SCCA Pro Racing

With the opening race weekend in the books, the teams in the Formula 4 United States Championship powered by Honda will put their adjustments to the test when they race again at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course from Aug. 11-13.

The field will once again be on the track with Konrad Czaczyk of Loxahatchee, Florida, leading the points standings with 75 points. Czaczyk, who pilots the 47 Leading Edge Grand Prix LCA F4 U.S. car, dominated the first event at Mid-Ohio, winning all three races.

Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, is second with 54 points following his three second-place podium finishes at Mid-Ohio. Cameron Das of Brooklandville, Maryland, is third with 34 points, Raphael Forcier of Montreal, Quebec, has 33 points and Benjamin Pedersen of Copenhagen, Denmark, rounds out the top five in championship standings with 27 points.

"I expect we will see an increase in the competitive pace as every lap around Mid-Ohio just adds to the drivers’ experience," SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Derrick Walker said. "Once drivers figure the track out, it can be hard to beat them. Competitors can never get enough track time at Mid-Ohio. It’s a great track to develop driving skills and the car setup."

Teams like Group-A have been adjusting their game plan heading into the second F4 U.S. event, trying to build off their momentum from the inaugural weekend.

Forcier took home a third-place trophy for Group-A in Race 3 during the series’ debut. Forcier started on the grid seventh and took third after making a move on Das before the 30-minute race ended in a yellow.

"Raphael showed a pretty good pace during opening weekend and earned some good results," Group-A team manager Jonathan Scarallo said. "Since then we have been out testing more to continue developing our package. The quality of the field is very high and we have been making sure to leave no stone unturned. I am sure the fans are going to love the show the F4 U.S. series will put on, and I am confident our team will be toward the front of that entertainment."

Group-A also signed former Formula Lites driver Jackie Ding of Shenzen, China, to make its championship run even stronger.

"Adding Jackie is going to be a good boost for our team," Scarallo said. "He is another quick bullet. Plus, now that we have a second quality driver in Jackie, we will gain twice as much data and can go through a lot more setup options during practice. In preseason testing, he and Raphael worked well together. When drivers can work together and are willing to share information, it only makes the team stronger."

Other teams, like Leading Edge Grand Prix, are trying a different approach for the second event.

"The first event went well for us," Leading Edge Grand Prix team owner Jon Lewis said. "We’ve made minor adjustments after the first three races, but our end goal is just to have all three of our competitors on the podium at the same time and keep them there. The next session isn’t going to be as easy, though. All the other teams have gone through the first event making adjustments, taking the car and driver out testing and then making more modifications. The second event will definitely be a harder fight for Konrad, Benjamin and Moises. It will be an interesting weekend to see what everyone did during the break."

Competitors will return to Mid-Ohio on Aug. 11 with the NASCAR XFINITY Series Mid-Ohio 200 and Trans-Am. The format will be similar to the first event with practices on Thursday, qualifying and races 4 and 5 of the season on Friday and the final race held on Saturday. Drivers will hold a special 30-minute autograph session in the F4 U.S. Championship paddock on Friday starting at 2:15 p.m.

For more a detailed schedule, ticket pricing and more information about F4 U.S. visit F4USChampionship.com.