CHARLOTTE, NC – Radford Racing School and Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) will once again host the Radford Racing School F4 U.S. Scholarship Award School—a joint venture that brings together some of the best karters from around the world to get their first experience in a single-seater racecar. The two-day school will take place December 1-2 at Radford Racing School’s multi-track facility in Chandler, Ariz.
A “karts to cars” style school, Parella Motorsports Holdings collaborates with Radford Racing School for the program designed to help scholarship winners acclimate to a racecar, while teaching them the basics of handling and car control. Nominated by some of the world’s best karting programs, scholarship recipients travel to Radford’s facility to participate in the program that utilizes the same combination that last year’s F4 U.S. competitors used on the track—a Ligier JS F4-16 chassis, a Honda 2.0-liter engine and Hankook racing slicks. With ground school, skid control, lead-follow sessions, braking, shifting and handling drills, the program is uniquely designed to account for the fact that participants are some of the top karters in the world. The scholarship includes a two-day school, with participants having the option to add on a third “lapping” day.
“We’re fortunate to have Radford Racing School as a partner in this annual scholarship award school,” said Scott Goodyear, race director for F4 U.S. “They have a great program with reliable cars and instructors who are drivers themselves. The instructors do a terrific job acclimating these karters to racecars and sharing their own first-hand knowledge to get them up to speed. It’s incredible to watch the progress that they make in just a few short days.”
In just its second year, the program has already seen graduates go on to accomplish great things. Patrick Woods-Toth was nominated by Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship (MRFKC) to participate in the December 2022 scholarship award school. Less than a year later, he’s a champion after earning the 2023 F4 U.S. Driver Championship with four wins and 14 podiums.
“We did the three-day school,” said Woods-Toth. “The first day is really just learning about car control and how to operate a racecar. Things like using a clutch or a manual gearbox, how to slide a car, how to drift a car, how to control a slide—the basics that you need to be able to drive a racecar on a racetrack. It’s a lot less intimidating than hopping right into the racecar, and it teaches you good habits and good skills. Then, they throw you into the racecar, but they give you some laps behind the pace car, which lets you just get familiar with your surroundings and work up some speed. After that, they let you loose. It’s a good progression from the first day to the third day; it allows you to just take your time and learn the basics.”
This year’s program is expected to include nominees from MRFKC, as well as New Castle Motorsports Park and Will Power Kart. Details on the scholarship recipients will be announced next week.
