| Jackie McLaughlin | |
| Birth Name: | John Henry McLaughlin |
| Birth Date: | October 11, 1933 |
| Birth Place: | Camden, New Jersey |
| Current Series: | Motorsport |
| First Year: | 1950 |
| Championships: | 4 |
| Last Finish: | 1964 |
John “Jackie” McLaughlin (October 11, 1933 – August 23, 1964) was an American racing driver from the Thorofare section of West Deptford Township, New Jersey. Although best remembered for his exploits in a dirt-track Modified, he won several United Racing Club Sprint car races and was their 1954 “Rookie of the Year”.[1]
Jackie McLaughlin started his racing career in 1950 at the age of 17 on the dirt at New Jersey's Atco Speedway and Alcyon Speedway in Pitman. By 1955, his brother-in-law, Budd Olsen, convinced him to try the Modifieds, and McLaughlin immediately won at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania and a track championship at Alcyon.[1] [2] He went on to compete successfully at the renowned tracks of the Mid-Atlantic, including Georgetown Speedway and Kent-Sussex Raceway in Delaware, Reading Fairgrounds Speedway in Pennsylvania, and Vineland Speedway in New Jersey.[3] McLaughlin entered the Daytona 300 in both 1959 and 1960, and claimed the 1956, 1957, and 1962 track championships at the Flemington Speedway in New Jersey.[4] [5] [6] [7]
Jackie McLaughlin sustained a fatal injury in a racing accident at Nazareth in August 1964.[8] He was inducted into the Eastern Motorsports Press Association and the Northeast Dirt Modified Halls of Fame.[1] [9]