The racing career of 20-year-old Patrick Woods-Toth (then 19) was given new life, as he took advantage of unexpected opportunities to win the F4 US Championship.
Woods-Toth made the transition from karts to cars, when the ROK Senior champion in the Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship was selected by the Fellows family to participate in the Radford Racing School in December 2022. The scholarship allowed him to get used to the F4 car at slower speeds, while also catching the eye of Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport.
Following a successful test and with funding from the Fellows, Woods-Toth made his F4 US debut in the 2023 season opener at NOLA Motorsports Park. He finished on the podium in all three races, with a runner-up and two third-place finishes. He says the biggest adjustment to F4 was the braking, which required more pressure, plus use of the gear box, to slow down the car.
Woods-Toth picked up sponsorship for Road America and took the event by storm, winning two of three races. The victories were a needed boost for what was becoming a title campaign.
“If I wouldn’t have gotten my first win so early on, who knows where we would’ve been sitting championship-wise, sponsor-wise, confidence-wise as well,” said Woods-Toth. “I’ve won championships in racing, that’s how I got here, but when I’m going into something so unknown, it’s like ‘do I belong here?’… to have that come so early on, that sealed the deal for me, I knew that we were ready to go.”
Woods-Toth recorded a win and six podium finishes between weekends at Mid-Ohio, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Virginia International Raceway. He entered the finale weekend with a comfortable lead in the standings, focused on staying under the radar and driving his own race.
With the championship clinched after race one at Circuit of the Americas, he returned to his normal driving style, finishing third and scoring a win to conclude the year.
“I was really focusing on my driving, while everyone else was focusing on getting a really good lap time (through drafting),” said Woods-Toth. “I just wanted to have good references and be prepared for the race. When you’re leading and you’re not able to follow someone, it’s a lot tougher…the last two races, I was able to really drive and earn my results and I think I surprised a lot of people.”
Woods-Toth says that speed and competitiveness were keys to his success this season, noting the importance of wins in racing. He says that teamwork, managing relationships and keeping up with learning are also important.
The Montreal, QC driver is staying busy with school during the off-season. He thought he’d need a degree to live a good life but has now established the goal of potentially racing for a living.
“This time last year, I was pretty much done racing, and I got an opportunity of a lifetime, just for fun, to drive cars,” said Woods-Toth. “To end up where I am now…(it’s) something I never expected. I was just so happy. It’s an accomplishment for me but also for Ron and the Fellows family, for the sponsors that helped us, for everyone. I was happy to win for myself but there are a lot of people behind me.”
The domino effect of surprise opportunities will continue into 2024. The F4 U.S. title has earned Woods-Toth a scholarship to the FR Americas series, which uses spec F3 cars.
“I think that car is amazing, it requires so much more race-like driving ability, it’s a much more difficult car to drive,” said Woods-Toth. “It’s a much more fun car to drive because it’s so much more rewarding when you get it right… I think I’m going to have a fun time, but at the end of the day, we need to focus on continuing the success.”
Woods-Toth recently started his 2024 season in the five-round FR Oceania Championship this winter, before the FR Americas schedule gets underway. FR Americas will feature seven race weekends, including a visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Labour Day weekend.
