The Ford flyer was the first driver to win all three races of the Darwin Triple Crown last year, powering him towards a second-straight championship.

This weekend will be the first of back-to-back rounds at the Northern Territory's Hidden Valley circuit before the series heads to Townsville.

McLaughlin enters the first Supercars event since last month's Sydney Supersprint with a 107-point lead in the championship standings ahead of Red Bull Holden legend Jamie Whincup.

"I've always really enjoyed this track and we've had really good cars up here," the Shell V-Power ace said.

"We won the Triple Crown when no one had done it for 20 years and now everyone will be having the chance of doing it this year.

"It's going to be a lot of fun hoping to go back-to-back and see if we can get another round win."

This round will also give the 27-year-old another shot at surpassing the legendary Peter Brock on the all-time Supercars race wins list.

McLaughlin needs just one more victory to equal Brock.

Drivers are raring to get out on track after landing in the NT more than a week ago.

Both Darwin rounds were pushed back by seven days due to the NT government declaring certain areas of southeast Queensland as COVID-19 hotspots.

Teams quarantined for two days before the hotspot status was revoked, allowing drivers to roam freely around Darwin.

Australian Associated Press