Professional racing can be a fickle sport. Series like the SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned F4 United States Championship and Formula Regional Americas Championship, both Powered by Honda, see ample talent climb behind the wheel of the Ligier formula cars, but it takes more than raw skill to parlay that into a professional racing career, especially when your goal is IndyCar. Both the F4 U.S. and FR Americas series have seen their fare share of skilled drivers take victories and win championships – but where are some of these drivers now? F4uschampionship.com has the answer.
This past weekend during the 107th Indy 500, one of F4 U.S.’s most potent past champions once again proved his skills by running in the top 10 (at points even the top five) before being caught in an unfortunate incident ending his race. In April 2023, Kirkwood had logged his very first win in the NTT IndyCar Series during the Long Beach Grand Prix. In 2017, Kirkwood scored 10 wins and 10 poles in 35 F4 U.S. race starts, collecting the 2017 F4 U.S. Driver Championship. The following year, he laid claim to 15 wins in 18 starts in the FR Americas series, securing that title as well.
As was recently reported on f4uschampionship.com:
“In the years following his F4 U.S. and FR Americas titles, Kirkwood went on to win championships in USF2000, USF Pro 2000 and Indy NXT (formerly known as Indy Lights) before making his IndyCar debut with A.J. Foyt Racing in 2022.
“This season, Kirkwood joined the legendary Andretti Autosport team where he is piloting the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Just three rounds into the 2023 season, the 24-year-old from Jupiter, Fla., secured both his first IndyCar win and pole position.”
Numerous racers have exceled after graduating from the ranks of F4 U.S. and FR Americas. For example, 2020 FR Americas vice-champion David Malukas is now the youngest driver in the NTT IndyCar paddock with one podium to his name, while 2019 FR Americas vice-champion Benjamin Pedersen is racing for A.J. Foyt Racing as an NTT IndyCar rookie. Malukas qualified 23rd in this year's Indy 500, with Pedersen starting an impressive 11th.
Then there’s Kyffin Simpson, Ernie Francis Jr., and Jacob Abel, all of whom raced in F4 U.S. or FR Americas and are now in the IndyCar NXT series – with last year’s IndyCar NXT champion being 2020 FR Americas champ Linus Lundqvist.
The list goes on and on, and you can read more about it on f4uschampionship.com.
Photo courtesy F4 U.S. Championship
