Kirkwood beats-out 31 other F4 U.S. cars in three races for his most successful F4 U.S. weekend to date
Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, was unbeatable during the second Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda event, sweeping victories in all three races held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday and Sunday.
Kirkwood, who joins ranks with Konrad Czaczyk and Cameron Das as the third F4 U.S. driver to ever win three races in one weekend, seized fast-lap times in one practice, qualifying and two of the three races, claiming pole position for two of the three rounds.
“It is an amazing feeling to win at Indianapolis. Some people wait their whole lives to win once here, and I feel so fortunate to have won three,” said Kirkwood. “After leaving Homestead, we lost a lot of points. Gaining 75 points here cuts our deficit in half and we didn’t think we would be able to see that type of movement until midyear. Cape Motorsports was amazing this weekend with my car setup, we were fast right out the gate. I am just so happy right now.”
Driving the white No. 8 Cape Motorsports car, Kirkwood lost radio communication with his team almost as soon as Race 3 went green. That didn’t stop the 18-year-old from taking charge on the track. As Kirkwood gained momentum, breaking his best lap time each time he crossed the yard of bricks, the F4 U.S. sophomore set his fastest time on the final lap to cement his name in F4 U.S history with the largest margin of victory in a single race. Kirkwood crossed the finish line an impressive 13.787 seconds ahead of second-place Jacob Loomis of Corinth, Texas. Loomis’ Global Racing Group teammate Ben Pedersen of Copenhagen, Denmark, claimed the last spot on the podium.
“Crossing the finish line at Indianapolis is like no other feeling I’ve ever had,” said Pedersen. “Since it’s not painted and made of bricks, I actually felt my car crossover. It gave me goosebumps.”
Braden Eves of Gahanna, Ohio, and Raphael Forcier of Montreal rounded out the Top 5 for the final race in Indianapolis.
In the second race of the weekend, Kirkwood would start on the front row beside pole sitter Timo Reger of Houston. The pair battled for position in the first lap. Kirkwood won the fight and never conceded his first-place spot. Points-leader Reger lost sight of Kirkwood as he held off multiple competitors trying to steal that second-place podium position. The JDX Racing pilot was successful and Eves would join Kirkwood and Reger on the podium in third.
“I had a disappointing finish to Race 1,” Reger said. “This second-place finish helps in points and I’m happy to come away with a podium in Indianapolis.”
Fans can view full results and photos from the weekend at F4USChampionship.com
The F4 U.S. Championship will make its first international debut at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, July 8-12.
