AUSTIN, Texas (November 1, 2024) – Alex Popow has two race starts and two race wins in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) after taking the victory in Race 2 at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Friday afternoon. Leading from flag to flag, Popow crossed the line with a 1.373 advantage to claim his second checkered flag of the weekend.
Notes of Interest:
- Alex Popow has only made two F4 U.S. starts, but he already has two wins in the series.
- Championship contender Daniel Quimby finished second in today’s race. Closing the gap on points leader Nicolas Stati, Quimby will enter the final round just three and a half points out of the lead.
- Connor Roberts finished third, marking his sixth consecutive podium result.
- Three teams were represented on today’s podium with MLT Motorsports winning the race, Atlantic Racing finishing second and Team Roberts Racing in third.
From the wave of the green flag there was no stopping Alex Popow (No. 55 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422). The 18-year-old Venezuelan American secured the pole for Race 2 after setting the fastest lap—and a new track record—during Thursday’s Race 1, and immediately pulled to the point position. Points leader Nicolas Stati (No. 15 AGI Sport Ligier JS F422) started in second, but found himself under immediate pressure from championship rival Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422), who had started the race in the fourth position. By the time they exited Turn 1, Quimby had worked his way up to second, staying close to Popow’s rear wing. Another driver with a great start was fifth-place starter Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422), who pulled into third by the time the field completed the first lap.
With the front three pulling away, Stati slotted into fourth while some of the most exciting racing took place behind him as Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) and Lincoln Day (No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) fought for the fifth position. Crosbie took the spot just in time, as a full-course caution brought out the safety car.
When the race restarted, Popow once again jumped to the point position. Right on Quimby’s gearbox, Stati was able to make a move into Turn 1 to claim the runner-up spot, but Quimby made his way back around his rival before the field reached the esses. With nearly nine minutes left on the clock, the front three drivers settled in nose to tail, while Crosbie looked for a way around Roberts. Within two laps, the New Zealander had made his way around Roberts to claim fourth, and the field raced toward the checkered flag.
Popow was first to take the checkered flag, followed by Quimby in second and Stati in third.
After the race, a series of Stewards’ Decisions resulted in penalties that adjusted the finishing order. Drivers receiving a penalty, included:
- Nicolas Stati: two five-second time penalties, moving him to sixth on the official results
- Alex Crosbie: five-second time penalty, moving him to fifth on the official results
- Lincoln Day: five-second time penalty
- Seth Gilmore: five-second time penalty
“It’s just been incredible,” said Popow. “I’m so happy to be here once again—thank you to all the guys at MLT and everyone who’s helped me get into this position. It’s just incredible the amount of work we’ve put in over the last couple weeks coming from [Carolina Motorsports Park], where we did our first testing. It’s great. I have to thank my dad—without him, I wouldn’t be here. He’s the one that got me into racing, and showed me what I love to do.”
F4 U.S. will contest their final race of the 2024 season tomorrow at 8:50 a.m. CT. After the race, find the drivers of JS F4 and F4 U.S. at the SpeedTour Town Center where they’ll be participating in an autograph session from 11:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Tickets for the event are available at the gate or online at SpeedTour.net/Austin. Fans at home can stream the race live on SpeedTour.TV, or follow live timing and scoring on the Race Monitor app. Additional news and updates will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
