Young American set for first national F4 season with championship-winning squad
The 2019 Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda season will see its first green flag at Road Atlanta on the April 18-20 weekend, and DC Autosport will field a pair of cars at the opener with the confirmation that 15-year-old American Ryan McElwee will join the team to run alongside second-year pilot Teddy Wilson. McElwee scored a pair of F4 wins last year in SCCA Regional competition and raced in the Formula Pro USA program, recording seven podium finishes in 10 races.
“I'm excited to add Ryan to the team,” commented DC Autosport team owner Don Conner. “We had a successful test in February. Ryan was consistent and was constantly moving forward. I expect that he'll be fighting in the top-10 this year."
Hailing from Escondido, California, McElwee is a 15-year-old 3.75 GPA student at De Lago Academy High School who began racing karts at the age of nine. Ryan competed in the Los Angeles Karting Championship, finishing second in the Junior 1 class in 2014. He also carded a pair of top-five results at the IKF 4-Cycle Grand Nationals that year. While moving into the quicker TaG Junior class in LAKC and Superkarts! USA competition in 2015 and 2016, he also started his foray into car racing at the Allen Berg Racing School at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2016. Ryan focused solely on his F4 program in 2017, completing almost two dozen test days as he began racing in Formula Pro USA and SCCA regional competition in 2018.
“The DC Autosport team has proven their ability to win races and championships, which is why I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to drive for them in this upcoming season,” McElwee added. “As a rookie, I feel that DC Autosport will give me the most opportunity to achieve good results and advance as a driver.”
The first event of the season will take place this coming weekend, as McElwee, Wilson, and the DC Autosport team will tackle the challenging 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta on April 18-20. The F4 series runs three races each weekend, with the first race of the year set to go green on Friday, April 19 at 1:20 pm ET.
