The competition will intensify this weekend 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 point standings.
After a solid performance with first and second-place podium finishes during the second event weekend at Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course, Kirkwood sits in first place and leads Czaczyk in championship point standings. Kirkwood 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. Czaczyk withdrew from Race 2 of the weekend due to damages suffered from incidental 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. The race finished in yellow, 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 color 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.
