October 27, 2022 – Still in the fight for both the team and driver championships, VRD Racing has strengthened its position heading into the F4 United States Championship Powered by Honda finale. Taking place at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, VRD Racing has added 17-year-old Ethan Barker to their driver lineup and by doing so, has added another opportunity for podium results.
“We welcome Ethan to VRD Racing with open arms and look forward to having him as part of our growing and successful program,” added Dan Mitchell. “Ethan has a lot of experience in multiple different race programs, and we hope that we can harvest his talent in open-wheel racing.”
Ethan started racing a paved oval track at the age of eight in a Bandolero at Houston Motorsports Park in Houston, Texas. He began racing an Allison Legacy, which is a 3/4 sized stock car, at the age of 13, and later added driving a ProTruck in paved oval track in and around the Gulf Coast area. Ethan also raced in a Pro Late Model for MCM Racing Development before progressing and winning the Gulf Coast Series Legacy Championship in 2020. Ethan holds the track record for the fastest lap time in a Legacy at Mobile International Speedway in Alabama. Barker has also raced a Mazda Miata, an MX-5 Cup car, and a Spec Miata in SCCA and NASA competition. Ethan won the SCCA T4 Championship for the SCCA Southwest Division in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and he was named Rookie of the Year by the Houston Region of SCCA in 2020. Also, Ethan currently holds two track records within SCCA for fastest lap times in the T4 division at MSR Houston and at MSR Cresson.
From 2020 until the present, Ethan has raced on 14 different tracks across the country, in eight different varieties of cars, and has garnered him 61 podiums, 37 of those first-place finishes. He has raced on famed tracks such as the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Virginia International Raceway, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway and Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
“I am excited to join VRD Racing and can’t thank them enough for the opportunity,” added Barker. “My goal is to be a professional in the world of open-wheel racing and with my personal success, and with the past history of VRD Racing, I feel we will become a powerful combination as we close 2022 and begin to make race plans for 2023.”
Stay tuned for more news and driver announcements from VRD Racing in the very near future.
For more information on VRD Racing and to find information on how to be involved with their race programs, please feel free to contact Daniel Mitchell via email at Info@VRD-Racing.com.
- Velocity Racing Development PR
