Liam Snyder leaving nothing on the table as he peruses the National title he missed in 2018
Before the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda season finale at the United States Grand Prix in November, Liam Snyder will step out of his Ligier JS F4 machine and suit-up for the Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs at the scenic Virginia International Raceway this weekend.
Selected by “SportsCar Magazine” as the favorite to win the Formula Enterprises 2 title this year, Snyder claimed pole position in earlier in the week with a fast time of 1:58.595-seconds around the 17-turn, 3.27-mile road course. Last season at Sonoma, Synder missed out on the championship title in 2018 to another F4 U.S. alumnus Flinn Lazier, securing runner-up honors. The 16-year-old Texas native focused on improving his race craft in 2019 in effort to clinch the Runoffs’ title in 2019.
“I’ve beyond a doubt increased my skills as a driver through participating in multiple tests and a race weekend with F4 U.S.,” said Snyder. “I’m excited to get back in the driver’s seat of my FE2 car to showcase what I’ve learned over the last few months. The team has worked hard on the car and I have exponentially grown as a competitor. The weekends I spent in an F4 car allowed me to advance my skills while studying other drivers. This will help me in the race to the top of the podium for the SCCA Runoffs FE2 title.”
Bringing his Texas-flair to the F4 grid, Snyder utilized the updated SCCA Pro Racing Path to the Runoffs rule to secure his spot for the 2019 SCCA National Championship. Drivers can now use up to two SCCA Pro starts to count for their participation requirement for the Runoffs. They must also compete in a Super Tour or Majors event weekend to qualify for Runoff participation.
“It’s a great opportunity for drivers from SCCA Pro-sanctioned series to come duke it out with the some of the best racers in the country. Fifteen drivers entered for the Runoffs chose the Pro Path. Our intention is to grow that number every year,” said SCCA Pro Racing General Manager Sydney Davis Yagel. “Competing in SCCA Road Racing events are different than professional racing and exposes our young drivers to different car with different performance characteristics. Our F4 U.S. drivers are used to large fields, but Liam definitely has his work cut out for him this weekend, going up against Scott Rettich, who’s won a record number of six national titles in the FE class, and other very capable drivers.”
F4 U.S alumnus Jacob Loomis put aside the steering wheel and picked up a wrench for this year’s Runoffs. Developing his engineering skills, Loomis will serve as Snyder’s lead mechanic. Loomis got his start in racing competing in SCCA events and has the goal to put Snyder on the top step at VIR for his first Runoffs national title.
“Working as an engineer for the Snyder Brothers has given me a whole new perspective on racing,” said Loomis. “It has given me a better understanding on how the car operates and how to adjust for different situations. This experience will better me as a driver, and expand opportunities later in my racing career. I look forward to be a part of Liam’s road to claiming the national championship.”
F4 U.S. partners will also be on location at VIR this weekend. F4 chassis designer and manufacturer, Ligier Automotive North America, made the trip from its Denver, North Carolina, home base to VIR. Ligier will have a fully-equipped Ligier JS F4 on display at the end of Vendor Row, conveniently located right beside Hankook Tire, the exclusive spec tire for the F4 U.S. Championship.
F4 U.S partner HPD will also be on location with its trailer, offering support to its dozens of Honda-powered drivers competing at the Runoffs.
Qualifying for all classes continues through Thursday with Championship races held Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Races in all classes will be 40 minutes in length or 19 laps, whichever elapses first. Fans can watch Snyder compete in the finale on Friday by streaming the event on SCCA.com.
