ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 18, 2025) – Kekai Hauanio closed out the Road America SpeedTour with his second Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) win of the weekend, taking the victory in Race 3 on Sunday afternoon. In a race of attrition, Hauanio held off a late-race charge from his Crosslink Motorsports teammate Demitri Nolan to take his third win of the 2025 season.
Notes of Interest:
- Kekai Hauanio earned his third win of the 2025 season and second of the Road America SpeedTour weekend.
- Demitri Nolan earned the first podium of his career with his runner-up finish in Race 3 at Road America.
- Another first-time podium finisher, Ty Arbogast crossed the line third in Race 3.
- Crosslink Motorsports took the top two positions on the podium, while RASE Motorsports earned their first F4 U.S. podium after joining the paddock this season.
- Earning his first-career podium this weekend at Road America, Ty Arbogast was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race and was recognized by the stewards for his outstanding performance. The award includes a bespoke Omologato timepiece. Last December, Arbogast was nominated by New Castle Motorsports Park to receive the Radford Racing School F4 U.S. “Karts to Cars” Scholarship, which provided him with additional training to aide in his transition from go karts to single-seater racecars.
Alex Popow (No. 55 Dr. Michael Thompson MS DDS PPLS / MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) led the field to the green flag for the final F4 U.S. race of the weekend at Road America. Second-place starter Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N-E-Where Transport / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F422) got a clean start, taking charge of the event as the field barreled toward Turn 1. Caleb Campbell (No. 68 Kids Help Phone / Camtacc Properties / Legacy Foundation of Canada / LC Racing Ligier JS F422) was able to jump from his fourth-place starting position to take second, as Cooper Shipman (No. 14 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) locked up his left front defending third. Racing toward Turn 5, Campbell and Shipman split Hauanio, dropping the Crosslink Motorsports driver to third, while Shipman pulled to the front. Campbell continued applying pressure to Shipman, pulling side by side as they entered Canada Corner and emerging from the turn with control of the race. Meanwhile, Popow had come to a stop on the track after suffering a mechanical failure in Turn 8 to bring out the safety car.
On the restart, Campbell easily pulled away with the lead as Hauanio had to settle for second, but the Race 1 winner was able to use the draft to his advantage to catch Campbell and pull side by side as they raced toward Turn 6. Taking the lead as they exited the corner, Hauanio began pulling away as Campbell fell under attack from Clemente Huerta Raab (No. 17 Velox USA / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422). Running wheel to wheel through Turn 5, Huerta Raab was on the outside when he hit a bump, upset the car and turned into Campbell. Both cars spun across the track bringing an early end to their afternoon.
Demitri Nolan (No. 5 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F422) had been lurking in the shadows all day looking for the right opportunity to improve his position, and with Campbell and Huerta Raab out of the race, he suddenly found himself in second behind his Crosslink Motorsports teammate. With just a couple minutes left on the clock, safety crews finished clearing the track just in time to give F4 U.S. drivers a one-lap shootout to the finish.
Hauanio was the first car to see the white flag, but Nolan was wheel to wheel with him by the time they reached Turn 1. Nolan took the lead as they entered Turn 3, but Hauanio fought back, retaking the lead as they raced through Turn 7. Hauanio started to stretch his legs in the lead while Nolan held off challenges from third-place Ty Arbogast (No. 32 RASE Marketing Ligier JS F422). Shaking Arbogast off his gearbox, Nolan refocused on Hauanio, while Cooper Shipman (No. 14 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) looked to steal the final podium spot out from under Arbogast.
They crossed the finish line the same way they took the green flag—in a two-by-two formation—with Hauanio edging Nolan by just 0.026-seconds, and Arbogast holding off Shipman with just 0.056 to spare.
READ MORE: Race 3 Official Results
“It was a good race,” said Kekai Hauanio from atop the podium. “I had some good battles there. The caution came out a couple times, but I was able to get the lead when we needed to as the caution came out. Demitri gave me a run for my money, but luckily, we got it—it was so close. I’d just like to thank my grandfather, N-E-Where Transport, Crosslink Motorsports and that whole group of people [his team] who do everything for me and prepare an amazing car.”
F4 U.S. will contest its next round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 19-22. The event, like all 2025 races, will be streamed live on SpeedTour.TV, with live timing and scoring available on the Race Monitor App. Additional news and updates leading up to the event will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about F4 U.S. should visit the championship’s website, F4USChampionship.com.
