SWITCHING
GEARS
Known by most
fans as the driver
of a winning NHRA
Pro Stock entry and
nitro-injected A/Fuel
dragster, Alex Laughlin
added another
combo to his arsenal
when he bought the
supercharged ‘12
Corvette formerly
campaigned by
Marty Robertson
and Kyle Huettel.
After qualifying ninth in a field
of 59 with an impressive 3.86 at
202 mph – the fastest Laughlin
had been in the eighth mile in
a door car – he went red in a
first-round loss. Still, the weekend
ended as a total success in Laugh-
lin’s eyes.
“I’m very happy to be here and
making a good showing for our
first outing,” Laughlin says. “As far
as I’m concerned, it’s a win.”
The drag radial experience at
Lights Out 9 hooked Laughlin,
who plans to race a handful of
radial events in the Corvette this
year. Coupled with a full 24-race
Pro Stock schedule and running
Gas Monkey’s supercharged
Challenger on Discovery’s Fast
N’ Loud and Street Outlaws, it’s
by far Laughlin’s most ambitious
year to date.
But it’s exactly the type of sched-
ule the 29-year-old Texan enjoys.
“My thing is, I like racing any-
thing and everything,” Laughlin
reveals. “If all I had was a moped
and it was a moped race, I would
be there.”
The challenge of three differ-
ent door cars is no easy task, but
it seems to bring out the best in
Laughlin. It’s the hardest thing
he’s done in his racing career,
but, again, Laughlin enjoys the
uncomfortable aspect of it. He
loved every minute of his time in
Valdosta, from the incredible at-
mosphere to the huge fan turnout
“My thing is,
I like racing
anything and
everything.”
“If all I had was a
moped and it was
a moped race,
I would be
there.”
to the laid-back setting in the pits.
Laughlin said he received
dozens of text messages after his
first pass, a sign of the diehard
following of the one-of-a-kind
event, and the incredible environ-
ment was hard to ignore. It’s also
why he can’t wait to get back in
the Corvette.
“It’s very wild up there, all the
people around (on the starting
line), and it’s like the ocean opens
up and the cars come through,”
Laughlin adds. “But once you’re
on the other side of it, it’s like
anything else. I’m in a different
world at that point. I try to react
best I can with whatever happens.
That’s part of the fun in it.”
– JOSH HACHAT
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April 2018
DragIllustrated.com
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