Lindenhurst, New York (September 11, 2017) - Group-A Racing is pleased to announce it will add Russ McDonough IV for the remainder of the 2017 season in the Formula 4 United States Championship. Russ joins the team after getting to test with them, and will make his pro debut at Circuit Of The Americas to get prepared for a full season campaign in 2018.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Russ McDonough grew up a fan of open wheel formula racing, watching Formula One and Indy Car with his father on television while living in a state with no paved road course or oval. He moved to Atlanta and enrolled in Georgia Tech as a freshman in the fall of 2015, intending to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. In the summer of 2017, following his sophomore year at Georgia Tech, Russ decided to take advantage of the racing opportunities in the Atlanta-area, including nearby road courses at Road Atlanta and Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP), and to pursue his dream of driving professionally. In June of 2017 he participated in his first race of any kind, in the Lucas Oil Formula Series at AMP. After that successful debut, he followed up by participating in Lucas Oil Formula races in Kentucky and Illinois in July and August, quickly rising through the ranks of a series established to identify and evaluate candidates intent on pursuing careers as professional racing drivers. In just his third-ever race weekend in Chicago in late-August, Russ qualified second overall, just 1/10th of a second behind the fastest qualifier, and went on to capture podiums in both of his races in Chicago, with first and third-place finishes. Russ will drive the number 30 car, which the team last entered during the Indianapolis Motor Speedway event for Flinn Lazier seeing him earn top 5 results with Group-A Racing. McDonough recently completed a test with Group-A Racing at Atlanta Motorsports Park to help get him prepared for his pro debut.
“We are excited and very pleased to have Russ coming on board with us” said team owner Joe Scarallo Sr. “He had a lot of other teams approach him which says a lot about our program and the way we run things for him to choose us. When he tested with us he did a nice job of improving each time out. He took the coaching that we provided him and continued to apply it and the lap times continued to fall. To top it off, he kept the car clean, maximizing the time he had. We are looking forward to keep on developing him both on and off the track.”
“I’m thrilled to be finishing the F4 U.S Championship with Group-A Racing. This summer has been incredible, and I am ready for the challenge of Formula 4. I think the Scarallo family and their team gave me the best chance to be competitive right out of the box.” Russ McDonough IV
For more information on testing & race opportunities with Group-A Racing, interested parties can contact them via 631-974-4379 or info@GroupARacingTeam.com.
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