By ohnson 
Max McLaughlin and Matt Hearn made their official debut on Tuesday night during hot laps for the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modfiieds at the Volusia Speedway Park. The results for McLaughlin were immediate. McLaughlin timed in quickly in all three sessions. He was second quick in the first session, sixth quick in the second and then went tenth quick in the final set of hot laps.
“Our unloaded second fastest overall, and then ran sixth fastest in the second session overall,” McLaughlin said. “We could have been even higher up there, but I wanted to explore the bottom as that’s probably where we’ll end up at the end of the race. I chose not to have a faster time. I just wanted to learn something down there on the bottom and that’s what we did.”
McLaughlin is looking forward to the opportunity to race alongside Matt Hearn working on the car. He believes having Hearn in his corner will help take the team to the next level. Hearn has had success with his uncle Brett and also Stewart Friesen.
“Matt is extremely smart and he brings a lot to our team,” McLaughlin said. “I think that’s what we were lacking last year. Kurt (Wiegel) and everyone at HBR are great helpers and very smart guys, but when you’re at the race track and you have a three-car team, you’re busy with your own car. You don’t have the time to go and help each other. You’re focused on your own car. With the series being so fast, that’s just how it is. Having Matt concentrating solely on our car is huge for us.”
Tuesday night was the first time that the driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, had turned laps at Volusia Speedway in a Big-Block Modified and it was also his first time in a Teo. Despite being several firsts, McLaughlin still has high expectations for the team. They want to win.
“This Teo car is really fast,” McLaughlin mentioned. “I’m really happy with it on its first outing. We’ll see what we can achieve this week, but our goal is to win and that’s what we’re going to strive for.”
Unfortunately, McLaughlin will have to wait an extra day to see what they can do on the track as Mother Nature has disrupted the Wednesday night program.