F4 - U.S. Championship gap narrows heading into third race weekend

26.08.16
Kirkwood, Czaczyk and Das lead the F4 U.S. Championship in Inaugural Championship Standings
FIA, Motorsport, Mobility, Road Safety, F1, WRC, WEC, WTCC, World RX

The competition will intensify this weekend (26-28 August) as the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda heads to New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Millville, New Jersey, for its third event of the season.

Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, Konrad Czaczyk of Loxahatchee, Florida, and Cameron Das of Brooklandville, Maryland, hold the top three positions in the inaugural F4 U.S. Championship standings.

After a solid performance with first and second place finishes during the second event weekend at Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course, Kirkwood sits in top spot and leads Czaczyk in championship point standings. He is ahead of Czaczyk by 27 points.

Czaczyk, who swept the first three races of the inaugural F4 U.S. event in July, had two 10th-place finishes at Mid-Ohio earlier this month. He withdrew from Race 2 of the weekend due to damages suffered from contact during Race 1. In the third race, Czaczyk started to make gains from his 16th grid position working his way to 10th place. A wreck in the front of the pack caused a caution to be thrown and the race finished under yellows, ending Czacz­­yk’s podium aspirations.

“After having such success in the first event, then having such disappointment in Mid-Ohio, it was the greatest motivation I could ask for going into New Jersey,” Czaczyk said. “It made me a stronger driver. New Jersey is a new track, with new opportunities. The crew has worked very hard putting together a great car. We look forward racing up front again.”

Czaczyk’s troublesome weekend at Mid-Ohio also closed the gap for Das, who is third in championship points. Das had a first-place finish in Race 3 at Mid-Ohio and only six points separate him from Czaczyk.

F4 U.S. newcomer Skylar Robinson of Atlanta, Georgia, launched himself into a comfortable fourth-place position after two podium finishes at Mid-Ohio. Robinson entered the series during the second event with Momentum Motorsports.

“I wasn’t expecting to be standing in fourth going into New Jersey,” Robinson said. “I’m taking it one race at a time, trying to be successful for my team, sponsors and everyone who got me here. The team and I will still be pushing hard at New Jersey with the same mindset as Mid-Ohio – to get on that podium.”

Momentum Motorsports expanded its team for New Jersey adding another new driver Quinlan Lall of Ringwood, New Jersey, to the roster. Lall joins the F4 U.S. line-up straight from England where he raced in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. Momentum Motorsports now has three drivers competing in the F4 U.S. Championship: Lall, Robinson and Baltazar Leguizamon of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

GMV Motorsports’ Michael Goodyear of Carmel, Indiana, will not enter this weekend’s event. Goodyear, son of a five-time IndyCar winner and ESPN on ABC colour analyst Scott Goodyear, attends Ball State University and started his junior year on Monday. Goodyear is double majoring in accounting and risk management.

“Education is always first and foremost,” Scott Goodyear said. “It’s important for Michael to not miss his first week of classes. He has a big workload with lots of goals.  While his heart may be at the track, his mind will be focused on his studies.”

Even though Goodyear will not be attending event three, with the addition of Lall, the F4 U.S. field for NJMP will still be 16 cars. The competitors will practice and qualify on Friday, participate in two races on Saturday and wrap-up race weekend with one race on Sunday afternoon.

For a full race schedule, championship points standings and the NJMP entry list, visit F4USChampionship.com

F4 U.S. Championship NJMP Entry List Aug. 26-28

CAR

            DRIVER

         HOMETOWN

CAR NAME

                        ENTRANT

1

Baltazar Leguizamon

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Momentum Motorsport

Momentum Motorsport

2

Skylar Robinson

Augusta, GA

Momentum Motorsport

Momentum Motorsport

3

Quinlan Lall

Ringwood, NJ

Momentum Motorsport

Momentum Motorsport

5

Kyle Kirkwood

Jupiter, FL

Primus Racing

Primus Racing

07

Steve Bamford

Toronto, Ontario, CAN

Steve Bamford with Rice Race Prep

Bamford Motorsports/Rice Race Prep

7

Blake Mount

Littleton, CO

Coca Cola

JDX Racing

10

Davis Durrett

Indianapolis, IN

Cortex Safety Technologies

Primus Racing

11

James Goughary Jr.

Jupiter, FL

Primus Racing

Primus Racing

12

Moises de la Vara

Guadalajara, MEX

UAG Leading Edge Grand Prix

Leading Edge Grand Prix

24

Benjamin Pedersen

Copenhagen, Denmark

DirtFish Leading Edge Grand Prix

Leading Edge Grand Prix

25

Darren Keane

Boca Raton, FL

Cal Development

JDX Racing

28

Cameron Das

Brooklandville, MD

Zero Chroma

JDX Racing

34

Austin Kaszuba

Burleson, TX

Indy Dental Group

GMV Motorsport

47

Konrad Czaczyk

Loxahatchee, FL

LCA Leading Edge Grand Prix

Leading Edge Grand Prix

62

Raphael Forcier

Montreal, Quebec, CAN

Group A

Group A

86

Jackie Ding

Shenzen, China

Huawei Telecommunications

Group A