Group-A Racing announced the addition of Russ McDonough IV of Little Rock, Arkansas, to its roster for the remainder of the Formula 4 United States Powered by Honda season. McDonough joined Group-A racing after a successful test with the team earlier in the summer and will make his professional racing debut at Circuit of the Americas Aug. 14-16 to prepare for a full season campaign in 2018.
“We are excited and very pleased to have Russ coming on board with us” said Group-A Racing team principal Joe Scarallo Sr. “He had a lot of other teams approach him, which says a lot about our program and the way we run things for him to choose us. When he tested earlier this year, he did a nice job of improving each time out. He took the coaching that we provided him and continued to apply it and the lap times continued to fall. To top it off, he kept the car clean, maximizing the time he had. We are looking forward to keep on developing him both on and off the track.”
McDonough grew up a fan of open-wheel formula racing, watching Formula One and IndyCar with his father on television This summer, McDonough took advantage of the
racing opportunities in the Atlanta-area to pursue his dream of driving professionally. In June, he participated in his first race of any kind, in the Lucas Oil Formula Series at Atlanta Motorsports Park. He followed-up by participating in Lucas Oil formula races in Kentucky and Illinois in July and August, quickly rising through the ranks of a series established to identify and evaluate candidates’ intent on pursuing careers as professional racing drivers. In just his third weekend of his racing career, McDonough qualified second overall, just a tenth of a second behind the fastest qualifier, and went on to capture podiums in both of races.
“I’m thrilled to be finishing the F4 U.S Championship season with Group-A Racing,” McDonough said. “This summer has been incredible, and I am ready for the challenge of Formula 4. I think the Scarallo family and their team gave me the best chance to be competitive right out of the box.”
McDonough will compete in the No. 30 F4 U.S. machine, which Group-A Racing last entered during the Indianapolis Motor Speedway event piloted by Flinn Lazier of Vail, Colorado, Lazier earned two top-10 finishes with Group-A Racing.
For more information on testing & race opportunities with Group-A Racing, interested parties can contact info@GroupARacingTeam.com.
