because you want to SEE it

Gas Monkey Energy Drink pro Alex Laughlin quickly making up for lost time

CONCORD, NC – After spotting the rest of the Pro Stock class a four-race head start, third-year driver Alex Laughlin says his Elite Motorsports teammates are helping him and his crew get their Gas Monkey Energy Drink Chevrolet Camaro up to speed as quickly as possible.

With the eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals set to kick-off Friday, Laughlin expects to put himself in the competitive mix at zMax Dragway, even though he only has one national event under his belt this year.

“Having a great team around you makes all the difference,” Laughlin said. “I look across the pit and see a guy like Jeg Coughlin Jr., who has five Pro Stock championships, and Erica Enders, who has two championships herself, and Vincent Nobile, who is an awesome driver who will definitely be a champion one day, and it’s just so cool to know they have my back.

“I’ve talked to all of them many times and they have all been so cool in giving me tips and discussing things they do to get down a certain lane, or race through certain conditions, just whatever they think will help. We’re a true team and that’s a huge deal.”

Laughlin began using Elite Performance motors earlier this year, beginning with a lengthy test session at the team’s local drag strip in Noble, Okla.

“We got the car up there right away, put a motor in and went to work,” Laughlin said. “All of the crew chiefs and all of the crew guys jumped in and helped. I have a Haas car and obviously with Rick Jones at Elite, they are used to his racecars so they’ve started making changes to get my car to behave more like his stuff.

“We made a bunch of hits but only to the eighth-mile so basically you get to fifth gear and push in the clutch. The Houston race was my first time all the way down a track since last November and we definitely got more data each pass.

“We are still making adjustments so they can tune it better. Erica suggested we reposition the clutch pedal and make some other changes to help with my launches. I’ll be surprised if I don’t have a step-up in reaction times right away. We have great power; we just haven’t put the perfect combination together yet.”

Pro Stock qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Friday, and 1:30 and 4 p.m., Saturday, with eliminations starting at 12:40 p.m., Sunday. Television coverage on FOX Sports 1 begins with a live qualifying show at 7 p.m., Friday, followed by elimination action at 5:30 p.m., Sunday. (All times listed in EDT).

“We just need a few hundredths more performance than we had in Houston and we’ll be in the fight,” Laughlin said. “We’re catching up fast. My muscle memory is coming back and my concentration was there. We actually made our best pass in Round 1 Sunday and even though we didn’t win, we closed the gap even more so we know we’re heading in the right direction. I can’t wait to get back after it in Charlotte.”

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