MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Max McLaughlin has made his name at a young age by being one of the most diverse drivers around. He will have a chance to add another skillset to his résumé later this season.
McLaughlin has agreed to drive select races in a Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports midget in addition to his pavement driving duties in the ARCA Menards Series for Hattori Racing Enterprises.
It’s a deal that McLaughlin said came about thanks to Toyota Racing Development, whose development program the second-generation driver has been involved with since signing with Hattori a year ago.
“Man, the TD2 program is a big step in Toyota’s driver development pipeline for their young drivers. I’ve always been a dirt racer and coming from a dirt background, Keith has always been someone that I’ve looked up to. One of my goals has always been to be able to drive for Keith Kunz; I’ve always said that,” McLaughlin told SPEED SPORT. “Growing up watching Kyle Larson in the 4 Crown Nationals go out and sweep the weekend (while) driving Keith’s car and seeing all the drivers that he had go through there … it’s just something that makes you want to be a part of it if you have the opportunity.
“I met Keith about a month before; he came to my shop, and I didn’t really expect anything from that. But I saw him again at New Smyrna and he sat down and talked to me … and that’s really the first that I heard that I’d be running one of his cars,” McLaughlin continued. “Toyota is giving me the opportunity to get a lot more seat time and I think if you can race everything you can, you’re going to be a better race car driver at the end of the day.”
McLaughlin added that his races in the ARCA Menards Series with Hattori Racing Enterprises will still be his main priority, and that his dirt midget schedule will largely be built around his pavement obligations.
However, he also sees the advantages of using dirt racing to enhance his abilities on the pavement, much like Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and others have done before him.
“Obviously in anything, my goal is to jump in and win,” McLaughlin relayed. “I don’t expect to do anything else, because if you know me … I’m kind of a sore loser, so I do everything I can to prepare myself, even when I’ve never done something before. I’ll do everything I can beforehand to study film, get on the simulator and just try to learn everything I can about whatever car it may be in advance so I’m as prepared as possible when I get to the race track.
“At the same time, though, I do know there’ll be a bit of a learning curve and I have to be prepared for that also,” he added. “The goal here is to perform, but to use my dirt racing to make me a better pavement racer, and vice versa. I think there are facets from both sides that will help you no matter what car you’re getting into and that’s something that I hope we can prove throughout the year.”
Kunz is looking forward to adding another young, hungry talent to his stable and is eager to work with the driver who cut his teeth in outlaw karts and big-block modifieds as a teenager.
“Max can just race anything,” Kunz said of McLaughlin, indicating the 20-year-old will likely run five to seven races in a KKM midget through the year. “I was honestly surprised that he hadn’t run any midget stuff when we started talking about doing this deal. He’s been impressive in the outlaw karts and big-block modifieds through the years, and through the Toyota (development) program we wanted to get him involved with us and see what he could do.
“I’m excited for Max. I think he’ll be alright and we’re looking forward to getting started with him.”
McLaughlin’s schedule with KKM has yet to be decided, but the son of longtime NASCAR driver Mike McLaughlin is already thinking about what he can apply from his previous dirt racing experience to the KKM midget.
“I do think there are definitely things that you can take from each car,” he noted. “Even the big-block modifieds — if you really look at a big-block chassis and the components that you bolt onto the chassis, it’s almost the same as a midget. You see guys like Larry Wight get out of a big-block modified, go to the Chili Bowl and make the show; he said they drive kind of similar. I’m really looking forward to getting in it. I really don’t know what to expect because I’ve never done it, but I know I’m excited.
“I don’t know how many we’ll run; just a handful of selected events most likely. As to what they are, I’m not sure at this point, but when we do know, we’ll go out and do what we can to be successful in them.”