F4 U.S.: Title showdown set for Homestead

The Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda competitors will race for more than bragging rights during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway Oct. 8-9.

The inaugural season points' champion will walk away with a grand prize of $25,000. First runner-up will be awarded $10,000 and third place will receive $5,000.

Five F4 U.S. competitors are mathematically eligible for the championship podium heading into the final event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Cameron Das, Konrad Czaczyk, Kyle Kirkwood, Jim Goughary Jr. and Skylar Robinson are all in contention to finish in the top three.

After sweeping the penultimate race at Road Atlanta in late September, Das leads the standings with 209 points. Though Das is the winningest driver in the F4 U.S. lineup, the first part of his season was filled with highs and lows.

After several near-miss podium finishes early in the season, Das worked with his JDX Racing team and driving coach, former IndyCar driver Raphael Matos, to improve his craft and lay the foundation work for the latter part of season.

"The team knew we should have been quicker the first race weekend of the season," said Das, the pilot of the blue and white No. 28 ZeroChroma F4 car. "We knew what we needed most was a bit more seat time and experimentation with setup. Sure enough, we were on pole for the race one and three race at the second event and we've continued to have better results. Perseverance and patience is the name of the game and it has certainly paid off for us so far."

Das has taken the checkered flag six times during the second half of the season, with the last five being consecutive podium wins. He's also started on the pole eight times and set 10 fast lap times, the most of any F4 U.S. competitor so far this year. The solid second half run to the season makes him the only driver guaranteed a top-three finish to the inaugural season.

Among the other F4 U.S. competitors in the chase for a top-three finish to the season, Czaczyk won all three races in the first event of the season, while Kirkwood leads the series with nine podium finishes. Goughary is the only F4 U.S. driver to have scored championship points during each round of racing and Robinson has four podium finishes this season.

FIA Super License points will also be awarded to the top seven F4 U.S. competitors of the season. The FIA Super License is a qualification allowing the license-holder to compete in the Formula 1 World Championship. The license is issued to drivers who have met the FIA criteria of success in the junior motorsport categories. A competitor must obtain 40 points within a three-year period to apply for a Super License. The F4 U.S. champion will be awarded 12 points to go toward the license. Subsequent positions will earn between 10 and one point depending on their final placement.

The F4 U.S. competitors meet again Saturday for practice, qualifying and Race 1 of the weekend. Sunday will be Race 2 and the grand finale to the championship. The inaugural F4 U.S. champion will be announced later Sunday evening. Fans can watch timing and scoring live on Race Monitor or follow updates on F4USChampionship.com.