AVONDALE, La. (March 30, 2025) – Alex Popow won his second Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) race of the season, taking the checkered flag in Race 3 on Sunday morning at NOLA Motorsports Park. Despite them crossing the finish line in nearly the same order that they took the green flag, the race was filled with fierce battles, especially during a mid-race restart where Popow (No. 55 Dr. Michael Thompson MS DDS PPLS Ligier JS F422) had to endure the challenges of Cooper Shipman (No. 14 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) en route to his second victory of the season.
Notes of Interest:
- Alex Popow and MLT Motorsports earned their second win of the season in Race 3 at NOLA Motorsports Park. Popow leaves Round 1 as the points leader in F4 U.S. Championship.
- Cooper Shipman continued his podium streak, earning a third second-place result in three races.
- Clemente Huerta Raab earned his first-career podium and a career-best finish with his third-place result in Race 3.
- With three podiums in three races during his debut weekend, Cooper Shipman was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race and recognized by the stewards for an outstanding performance this weekend. The award includes a bespoke Omologato timepiece.
Popow and Shipman led the field down the frontstretch to take the green flag and kick off the final F4 U.S. race of the NOLA SpeedTour weekend. Popow pulled ahead as they raced through Turn 1, but Shipman stayed tight on his gearbox, hoping for his chance at victory. Behind them, drivers raced two by two, knowing that every position matters in the points battle. Clemente Huerta Raab (No. 17 Velox USA Ligier JS F422) ran in to some trouble early while running third, as he spun through the esses on lap two. Keeping his car on the racing surface, he quickly recovered, getting back up to speed and rejoining the field in fifth.
As the race progressed, Shipman stayed close to Popow’s rear wing while the rest of the field spread out. A full-course caution just before the halfway point gave competitors an opportunity to quickly improve their position as the field was regrouped for a single-file dash to the finish.
Shipman looked to the outside as they raced toward Turn 1, hoping for a chance to take the lead, but those hopes were dashed as he hit a bump, locked up his tires and went wide, allowing Popow to confidently take the lead. Huerta Raab had a great restart and was able to climb all the way from fifth to second as he slid past Shipman in Turn 2. Hauanio also pulled ahead to challenge Shipman, but the Kiwi Motorsport driver was able to hold off Hauanio’s advancements and maintain third.
The next lap, Shipman pulled to the inside of Huerta Raab, determined to regain the runner-up position. Successfully overtaking second in Turn 1, Shipman kept his focus forward and begin to gap Huerta Raab. Hauanio spent more than a lap looking for a way around Huerta Raab, and with about five minutes left on the clock, he finally got it done by diving to the inside of Huerta Raab in Turn 3. Caleb Campbell (No. 68 LC Racing Academy Ligier JS F422) also followed him through slipping into fourth. Racing toward the white flag, Campbell got around Hauanio in Turn 13, but they weren’t done yet. Still running nose to stern past the waving white flag, Hauanio pulled to the inside of Campbell in Turn 1. Not willing to give up his hopes of a podium, Huerta Raab joined the fight, braking late and plowing three wide into Turn 3 and completing the pass as they exited Turn 4.
As they made their way back to the finish line, Popow held a 0.687-second advantage over Shipman, while Huerta Raab claimed the third and final podium position.
READ MORE: Race 3 Official Results
“It was a good race,” said Popow after climbing from the car. “We got a good start and were able to just take the lead from the get-go. From there, it was just trying to manage the gap and stay out front. That late safety car was a little bit hard on the restart, but we got it done. I'm super happy with how the weekend went after a rough week. This is a good way to end it all.”
Today’s races for F4 U.S., Ligier Junior Formula Championship and Formula Regional Americas Championship were broadcast live on SPEED SPORT 1. An encore presentation of the day’s races will air on SPEED SPORT 1 tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET.
F4 U.S. returns to the track at Road America, May 15-18. The event, like all 2025 races, will be streamed live on SpeedTour.TV, with live timing and scoring available on the Race Monitor App. Additional news and updates leading up to the race weekend will be shared on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about F4 U.S. should visit the championship’s website, F4USChampionship.com.
