Jay Howard Driver Development dominated the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda team standings during its debut at Virginia International Raceway April 27-29. Two wins and a second-place finish from Christian Rasmussen of Copenhagen, Denmark, two podiums from Teddy Wilson of Holbeach, England, and a pair of top-10 finishes from Wyatt Brichacek of Johnstown, Colorado, jolted JHDD to a comfortable 54-point lead over the recently combined Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport team.
Seven of the 15 teams entered recorded team championship points.
“Of course, we as a team are extremely happy with how the season has started and the results are a reflection on the team’s hard work over the winter from both the crew and drivers,” said Indianapolis 500 driver and JHDD team owner Jay Howard. “I am proud of the entire team. We will continue to work hard, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport more than doubled its field from 2017 when the team combined forces in the off-season. Four of its five drivers added points at VIR to aid in the team’s overall second-place standing.
“With four of our drivers having no wings and slicks experience, having three finishes in the top-10 in two races was a great result for the team,” said Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport co-owner Teena Larsen. “We even had four of our cars start behind each other and one beside. They all did a great job working together as a team. Both on and off the track, our team gelled. Everyone worked very hard together and played their part in a good start to the season. Now it’s time to roll onto Road Atlanta."
Teams in subsequent positions are also in a tight race to the top. Only one point separates third-place DC Autosport with Cape Motorsports from fourth-place Global Racing Group.
"I’m pleased with the weekend, and I think that it was a good start for the team,” DC Autosport team owner Don Conner said. “It’s fantastic to be on the podium with Dakota for all three rounds and Eduardo ticked off his first race weekend with a good qualifying performance and a 13th place finish. I’m excited to get Steve Bamford on the track at Road Atlanta and get back to work.”
Fielding two cars, Abel Motorsports was the only multi-car team to have all of its drivers score points in the season opener.
Both Jacob Abel of Louisville, Kentucky, and Jacob Loomis of Corinth, Texas, finished with 12 points each to secure a fifth-place standing for Abel Motorsports. The Kentucky-based team already tallied more points in the opening round than it did during its entire inaugural 2017 season.
“We are very excited for such a great start to the season,” said Abel Motorsports team owner Bill Abel. “We look forward to adding more team points and campaigning for the end-of-year team championship.”
Single-car teams DEForce Racing and Full Gas Motorsports also scored team points in the first event.
Team Championship points are calculated from teams’ top-two drivers’ standings from each individual race. In case of a tie, the team with the most race wins will be awarded the higher position.
The F4 U.S. Championship teams are back in action for Rounds 4-6 Road Atlanta May 10-12. Fans can view full team point standings here.
