Group-A Racing Fills Their Trophy Case At Barber Motorsports Park

In front of a sellout crowd on the NTT Indy Car weekend, Group-A Racing drivers showcased tremendous speed and filled their trophy case during the event.

Group-A Racing entered three cars, one in each class in the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, Steve Jenks in his new Radical SR10 in the Platinum class, Reece Everard in Pro 1500 and Reid Stewart in Pro 1340. The weekend started with four practice sessions on Thursday. All three drivers started the weekend finishing the first sessions fastest in their class. Jenks & Everard would continue to set the pace in every practice session, with Reid in the top 3 every session.

Qualifying for race 1 would not go completely to plan. Jenks bumped the engine mapping knob on his steering wheel during the session without realizing it, costing him about 30 horsepower, an innocent mistake easily fixed, but would cause him to only qualify 4th. Reece found himself very unlucky with red flag session stoppages, traffic, and cars exiting the pits in front of him and never got a proper clear lap. He would still manage to salvage a 3rd in the Pro 1500 class. Reid Stewart was in an intense session in Pro 1340 and would qualify fourth, but was less than 4 tenths of a second off the pole.

With full horsepower in hand now, Jenks would quickly start moving forward in race one. The Platinum class saw a close nose-to-tail battle for the lead with 5 cars scrapping it out. Jenks did a great job to recover from his 4th place starting spot to finish 3rd on a track that’s very difficult to pass. Reece Everard did exactly the same in Pro 1500, recovering from a disappointing qualifying to finish 2nd in his class as well. Reid Stewart saw himself in a frantic Pro 1340 battle for the lead, driving swapping positions all race and finish a tremendous 2nd in class as well. All three Group-A Racing drivers set the fastest lap of the race in their class results in a clean sweep of Group-A Racing drivers starting on pole for race 2.

Race 2 saw Jenks get a great start from pole in the Platinum class to build a small lead. After an early full course yellow, defending champion Al Miller would get past Jenks. Steve continued to hound the multi time series champion and forced him into a mistake to re take the lead. Jenks never looked back to bring home the win in his debut race weekend in the Platinum class! Reece Everard did not get as good of a start from pole in the Pro 1500 falling to second behind defending champion Gustavo Rafols. After the early yellow though, he re took the lead and checked out from the rest of the field putting on a dominate display to win as well! Reid Stewart,s start from pole in Pro 1340 was not ideal, and a mistake in turn 1 saw him off course and with a spin. This resulted with him in last and many seconds behind the pack. Stewart got the car restarted finally and put his head down to salvage a tremendous 5th,considering how the race started.

In race 3, Jenks started outside pole with a great start edging ahead to take the lead. Unfortunately, he was run wide by polesitter Al Miller with contact to the left rear upright. The damage caused the alignment to go off, with Jenks having to salvage what he could with a wounded car to finish 4th. Reece was starting from pole in Pro 1500, but an electrical glitch on the grid caused the car to not engage first gear. The team scrambled to miraculously get it fixed on the formation lap. With it though, Reece went from starting on pole in his class to now starting last, 32nd overall. He drove with an intense fire in his eye blitzing through the field in an incredible manner. Everard would do a tremendous job to recover all the way back to 2nd in the Pro 1500 class! Reid Stewart started 3rd in Pro 1340 class. He was in another intense battle all race long in 1340 with 5 drivers trading position all race. Stewart would come home with yet another podium result in 2nd!

“All-in-all, I can only be extremely proud and happy with this weekend” stated Group-A Racing manager Jonathan Scarallo. “We put the paddock on notice with all of our drivers’ pace, many poles, wins, podiums, it’s a great weekend. Naturally as fierce competitors though, we are quickly not satisfied and can’t help but feel like we left some championship points on the table. But everybody under the tent is feeling great, nothing but tremendous confidence as a complete unit, which is a great thing for everybody to take to Road America next month and hopefully be better yet again.”

Round 2 of the 2022 Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup will take place June 9-12, again with the NTT Indy Car Series. Race fans can re watch the live stream from the Barber Motorsports Park on the Radical Sports Car Youtube page.

Race 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RldAtwXUNA

Race 2: https://youtu.be/8n_6ibMLd3U

Race 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5k63Y25iPI&t=2s

Group-A Racing F4US Drivers Scores Top Results at Barber

LINDENHURST, NEW YORK (AUGUST 11, 2020) - Group-A Racing F4US Drivers Scores Top Results at Barber
 
Group-A Racing leaves its first trip to Barber Motorsports Park with a top-five and multiple top-10 results, giving the team a good bag of points into the mid-season break. 
 
The incredibly scenic Barber Motorsports Park is a new venue for both the Formula 4 United States Championship Presented by Honda and Group-A Racing team. While most of its competitors tested at Barber during the COVID-19 shut down, nobody from the Group-A Racing camp participated in the test due to domestic and international travel restrictions. While going in behind, the team's extremely deep engineering staff was able to rely on previous trips to the Birmingham facility in other championships to facilitate setting up the cars.
 
Practice showed promise for the Group-A Racing drivers, having done a lot of prep work on the simulator with Group-A Racing team manager and driver coach Jonathan Scarallo. Unfortunately, very nasty weather with flooding and high winds moved into the Birmingham, Alabama, area late Friday afternoon causing qualifying to be canceled. Series officials decided to grid the field for Race 1 based on championship points. 
 
With that, Race 1 saw Group-A Racing’s Nicholas Rivers start sixth, William Myers 18th due to a five-grid spot penalty and Robert Torres 20th.
 
Rivers had a great back and forth battle at the front of the field with the drivers trading positions constantly, with Rivers running as high as fourth at one point and finishing sixth. Myers found himself in a bit of an isolated island in his race and Torres collided with a spinning car on the opening lap of the race causing a DNF.
 
The team made a series of changes to the cars to help stay on top of the notoriously high tire degradation experienced at Barber Motorsports Park. Race 2 saw the team's drivers starting a bit farther back than preferred with Rivers 12th, Myers 23rd and Torres 28th. All three drivers had great races moving up numerous spots in the ultra-competitive F4 U.S. field. Rivers moved up five positions from 12th to seventh for yet another points-paying result. Myers moved up five positions as well from 23rd to 18th and Torres was up nine spots from 28th to 19th.
 
Race 3 grid, set on the previous race’s fastest lap, saw Rivers starting fourth, Myers 19th and Torres 25th.  Rivers had yet another exciting battle at the front of the field, vying for a podium position the entire race. Rivers came home with another top-five result finishing fourth, making it a three consecutive points scoring result for the very young rookie.
 
Myers did not move up, but his race pace drastically improved in the race from the day prior, causing him to threaten the cars in front, a very positive sign of him applying coaching provided from the team and good series of changes to the car for the Jamaican. Torres also finished the race where he started.  
 
For first time in history, the weekend saw a fourth race on the same weekend, making up for the rain out race at Mid Ohio the month prior.
 
Rivers grided up in the top-fvie. An early race spin dropped him all the way to the rear of the field. When the team needed a full course caution, this event unfortunately never saw one, going green the entire time. This made life difficult for Rivers, as he consistently set the same lap times as the eventual winner, leaving a ‘what if’ mindset for the team and driver. The incredibly strong pace for the Group-A Racing driver in the caution-free race was a true testament to the team's engineering staff and how they set the cars for the incredibly high tire degradation track. The shared data files amongst the series showed the Group-A Racing machine of  Rivers the fastest of all competitors in the high speed sectors of the track.
 
At the same time, Myers got stuck behind a slower car at the beginning of the race but finally got past mid-race. After that, he saw a massive improvement in his race pace in comparison to the leaders. Sadly, for the Jamaican the final race results didn’t truly tell the story of how much his race pace improved each race during the event.
 
Torres saw a good step in the positive direction, with the extra track time, as well as moving up five positions from his grid spot to where he finished. 
 
“All-in-all, I can’t really ask for much more for the team and drivers” said team manager Scarallo. “We naturally came into this event a bit behind having never been here with F4 and with all rookie lineup, plus William recovering from a big crash to finish the last event just one week ago. All three boys made tremendous progress, Nicholas at the very front of the grid all event and the race pace from all three was vastly improved in the caution free race to end the event. This is a good break for all the coaching and information to soak in to their heads from the compact first half of the season to then apply for the second half.” 
 
The team now goes into the mid-season break with seven weeks to get prepared for the Sebring International Raceway. Drivers interested in test & race opportunities contact Jonathan Scarallo 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com.  
 

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Group-A’s Dillon Newell Earns Breakthrough Win and Track Record

In only his fifth ever motor race of any kind, Group-A Racing Development Driver, Dillon Newell, earned his first career podium in race one. He would back that up with his first career pole in day 2 which was also a new track record. Lastly, capped that up with his first career win!
 
            Dillon Newell joined the Group-A Racing Development Program in January of 2019, having never driven any kind of motorized vehicle before. After completing his first Lucas Oil School that January, he entered his first ever race the following month in the Lucas Oil Formula Winter Series. From there, he competed in the final 3 events of the Lucas Oil Formula Series in the 2019 season, showing tremendous progress and development at a very rapid rate.  This all took place under the management and development of Jonathan Scarallo and the Group-A Racing Driver Development Program. 
 
            In preparation for his first full season of auto racing in the 2020 Lucas Oil Formula Series, Dillon entered the winter warm-up event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. This was only his 5th ever race event, ironically taking place on the exact anniversary of his first race event 1 year prior at WeatherTech.
 
It was a two-day event format with each day consisting of 1 practice, 1 qualifying and a race. Newell came in a bit behind having not participated in the extra lapping days earlier in the week due to school commitments. Despite playing catch up, Dillon put in a good performance to earn his best qualifying result of 3rd position. In the race Dillon got a great start to immediately jump up to second and on the leader’s gearbox. Newell put extensive pressure on the leader for the first half of the race, looking for a way past. They would catch some lap traffic, which didn’t go his way, causing a gap to appear between him and the race leader. The gap maintained for the remainder and Dillon would come home with his first career podium with a second-place finish. 
 
Overnight Dillon and Group-A Racing Driver Development Coach Jonathan Scarallo kept working to grind out details so he could come back stronger on the second day. Dillon did an excellent job executing all the details he was taught, to blitz the field with a fantastic lap to take the pole and set a new track record for the Lucas Oil Formula Series! In the race, Newell got a good jump to maintain the lead but now he had yesterday’s winner haunting him around the scenic 2.238 mile WeatherTech Raceway. With the roles reversed, Dillon was doing a great job of being mistake free and making his car appear wide, making life difficult for his rival. At exactly the half way point, Newell lost the lead going into the Andretti hairpin. He wasn’t fazed by it and instantaneously attacked the leader to re-claim the lead 3 corners later with a sharp move into turn 5. From there Dillon continued to be calm and click off fast laps to claim his first career victory in only his 5th ever race event, a great result after some rapid development from the young New Yorker.
 
“It was an incredibly good weekend for me” said Dillon Newell.  “I think that the work being put in through the 2019 season could not have been possible without Jonathan’s help.  Leading up to this race I have had an interesting season with some great progress being made and some good performances.  It really got all wrapped up together on race 2 of the 2020 Lucas Oil warm up race.  My qualifying was very strong which got me my first pole position of my career and first track record.  The race which followed was even more exciting for me because I had to work and fight for the position the entire race. I was racing with some very good drivers and one in particular, who would not shake off my tail.  We had a great battle to the finish but once I saw the checkered flag it all came together.  The excitement, the joy, and all the hard work and dedication finally paid off!  I have to thank all of the staff and instructors at Lucas Oil School Racing School for all of the help and dedication that they have given me.  My coach Jonathan Scarallo with Group-A Racing who has been with me throughout my entire racing career, and of course my mother who makes this all happen for me.  I cannot wait for the upcoming season with Lucas Oil and am excited to see the growth and improvements that I will make this season!” 
 
“I am beyond thrilled and excited for Dillon” commented Group-A Racing’s Jonathan Scarallo. “He has worked hard with me on and off track, which is why we have seen such a rapid development rate from him. We did a lot of prep work on the simulator ahead of time, specifically on race craft leading into this event and it obviously paid off massive dividends. It was super rewarding watching him defend and attack in the second race because he was doing everything he was taught by us on the simulator during our prep work. He has done a good job of instantly applying everything he’s taught, which is why we have seen such a great rate of development.”    
 
Drivers interested in being part of the Group-A Racing Driver Development Program or Group-A Racing’s Formula 4 United States team contact the Jonathan via info@GroupARacingTeam.com or 631-974-4379.

Group-A Racing Signs Jamaican International Talent William Myers

Group-A Racing is very pleased to announce its second full-time driver for the 2020 Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda season. Jamaican international talent William Myers will drive the No. 62 Group-A Racing Formula 4 car outfitted in a special Jamaican themed livery to proudly represent his Jamaican supporters.

“I am so excited about having William join us this year” said Group-A Racing team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “He was really quick in his first test back in November and he literally never dropped a wheel off or anything. He’s been able to provide our incredible engineers good feedback to help push the cars along and is a very welcomed addition. He will have a lot to learn as a rookie, but will be a very strong first year driver.” 

Myers got his start in racing during the 2008 season at the age of 11, racing Rotax Minimax karts. He progressed throughout the karting classes racing in national series such as Rok Cup, Florida Winter Tour etc. In 2015, Myers made the jump to cars, racing a Honda Civic EG, winning his first race. From there, he moved up to Modified production 2 class, winning both the 2016 and 2018 Championship. Most recently during the 2019 season, Myers jumped up to the Radical SR3 class in the Caribbean championship. In only his rookie year, William won the championship. Now for 2020, Myers will make his pro debut and race full time in the United States with Group-A Racing.

"I am extremely happy to join the F4 U.S. Championship with Group-A Racing’ stated Myers. “With limited seat time before the beginning of season as well as it being my first time racing at any of these tracks means I will have a lot of learning to do this year. I have no doubt the Group-A team and I will work together to be great competitors this coming season. I’m looking forward to a lot of learning, racing and fun!"

 Group-A Racing has reinvested into the team with a new Indy Car transporter for its F4 program. From all aspects of equipment and personnel, the New York-based team has been  aggressive in the off season to ensure its drivers have every tool needed to succeed, and best experience for their sponsors.

Group-A Racing will have another full-time driver announcement being released soon, leaving only 1 more seat available for the season. The team has been scheduling more testing for other participants. Drivers interested in testing, race & driver development seats contact Jonathan Scarallo 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com

Cameron Das Joins Group-A Racing Driver Development Program

Lindenhurst, New York (May 4 2015) – Group-A Racing is pleased to announcethe expansion of its in house driver development program, with the addition of 15 year old Baltimore native Cameron Das.

            Cameron Das got his motorsports career started with indoor karting at Autobahn Indoor Karting facility competing in junior and adult leagues. During the previous winter & fall championships he has competed in 53 races with 26 of them being wins and 42 of them being podium results. During that time he won the fall championship & finished 4^th in the winter championship.

As part of the driver development program Group-A Racing will be providing Cameron with private on track coaching, off track coaching, brand building, educating him on the industry, as well as consulting for career decision-making.

Last month Das got his first taste of race cars when he completed his 5 day racing school at Palm Beach International with the Bertil Roos Racing School. He will now start competing in the Bertil Roos FF2000 Series since he has earned his competition license. He will race in the series working with Jonathan Scarallo as his coach, to speed up his learning curve that he will encounter making this transition from karts to cars. He will also get testing opportunities in the Group-A Racing Formula Lites cars as a part of a driver development program.

Off the track Cameron is currently attending Gilman School, Baltimore’s premier private all-boys school. As a ninth grader he is already an accomplished award winning filmmaker, and has been able to attend camps in New York City even though he did not meet the minimum age.

Cameron has received acceptance to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, which is known to only accept the best academically. This prestigious prep/boarding school has been named the most elite boarding school in America by academic review sites such as Niche.com, Top Test Prep, and Business Insider, boasting the highest SAT average score at 2107 while maintaining a low acceptance rate at 12% and a high SSAT (entrance exam) average at 94^th percentile. Exeter has a reputation as a feeder school to Ivy League universities.

“I am really excited to be adding Cameron to our driver development program,” said Jonathan Scarallo who is the Group-A Racing team manager and is in charge of the driver development program. “Developing talent on and off the track is one of the most important things for Group-A Racing and is very satisfying to us. Cameron is a real bright kid and has had some good success so far in karting. I am looking forward to working with him in the Bertil Roos system & potentially getting him in one of the teams Formula Lites cars after the season.”

"I am honored to be a part of the Group A Racing team” said Cameron Das. “I look forward to receiving their inputs regarding the craft both on and off the track. Between Jonathan Scarallo's expertise and the experience gained through the Bertil Roos Racing Series this year, I will greatly advance my skills far more than ever before."

Along with working with its customers in the driver development program, Group-A Racing is currently competing in the new & exciting Formula Lites Series, USF2000, F2000 Championship Series, Trans-Am Series and other programs. Drivers interested in its driver development programs, or other racing & testing opportunities can contact them via 631-957-3901 GroupARacing@aol.com.