Group-A Racing Dominates at Sonoma: Wins Platinum Class Championship and Re-Writes Record Books

Group-A Racing Dominates at Sonoma: Wins Platinum Class Championship and Re-Writes Record Books

With championship titles on the line, Group-A Racing takes home a lot of hardware and re writes the record books. 

Per the norm in Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, the weekend started with a full Friday with many hours of track time for the competitors. All three drivers showed very good pace and promise throughout the day, leading into qualifying and race one on Saturday.

With tire wear being a big issue for the high horsepower turbocharged Radical SR10’s at Sonoma Raceway, tire strategy and management would be a key factor. The team would elect to only do 2 flying laps in qualifying, looking to keep the tires as fresh as possible for Jenks. With that, he was able to put the car on outside pole, just missing by .063 of a second! Aurora Strauss would qualify a strong 4th in PRO 1500, only a few tenths off pole. Reid Stewart qualified 2nd in PRO 1340 with a small margin to the pole sitter's time. 

Race 1 would see Jenks haunting Judd Miller from the very start in the Platinum class. Not giving him any room to breathe, Jenks was finally able to find a way past him, mid race, never looking back, to take the win with the fastest lap of the race. In PRO 1500 Aurora would jump hometown local, Will Lin, on the initial start with an aggressive maneuver. She then set her sights on series veterans, Greg Gorski & Palmer Miller. Initially, she lost some ground to both of them, but then by mid race started to reel them back in with tremendous pace. She would catch the leading duo and find a way past championship leader Palmer Miller, now haunting Greg Gorski, as the two traded fastest lap of the race back and forth. With few laps remaining, an unfortunate car issue would cause Gorski to pull over while battling with Aurora, giving her the lead and pulling away from Palmer, never looking back, and capturing the win in PRO 1500! In PRO 1340 it was yet another 3-way battle between Reid Stewart, Austin Riley and Mike Anzaldi. Anzaldi and Riley would tangle at the end of the opening lap, giving Stewart the lead. From there, he put his head down to build a gap over the rest of the field, and set fastest lap of the race in route to victory in PRO 1340! This was the first time in series history that a team has ever swept victory in all 3 classes in the same race. The history books were also re written with Aurora Straus becoming the first female winner in series history. 

Race 2 saw Jenks start on pole in Platinum class but would lose the lead off the jump to Judd Miller this time. Just as the previous race, the two were nose-to-tail the entire time, neither driver making a mistake. John Field would eventually catch the 2 with his new tires from not starting race 1 and pass Steve for 2nd with a lap remaining. The top 3 would finish on each other's gearbox. The 3rd place would essentially lock the Platinum class championship for Jenks, with him only needing to start the final race later that afternoon. In PRO 1500 Aurora would start outside pole to Palmer Miller. She got a good initial jump, but would lose ground in the first third of the race. But with the team’s setup to last the entire race, she came to life again in her Richard Mille/Monticello Motor Club SR3 and start to run down Palmer Miller. She would eventually catch him and force him into a mistake to take the lead. The next lap, Miller would pass to obtain the lead with a three-wide move with Aurora and lap traffic. But the lap after that Aurora re took the lead again, this time never looking back checking out, to now also win race 2 in PRO 1500! It was a fantastic drive, proving the day before was not a fluke. In PRO 1340 Reid Stewart would start from pole, but it was a very different race to the day prior. He had championship leader Austin Riley & defending series champion Mike Anzaldi breathing down his neck during the entire 40 minute event. Stewart put on his best performance of the year, ripping off immensely fast and consistent laps, never putting a foot wrong, to give his rivals a chance, and he too would win race 2 in PRO 1340!

Race 3 is always exciting with the pit stop that occurs only in race 3. Steve Jenks would start outside pole to John Field, and initially Field would get away. During the pit stop the team timed it perfectly for Jenks to jump to the lead with a big gap. Unfortunately, a late yellow would put John Field close to Jenks with much fresher tires. Jenks held him off for a bit, but did not put up a huge fight, with the big picture in mind. Jenks would capture another podium finishing 2nd. With that, he captured the Platinum Class Drivers Championship! Aurora would start 3rd in PRO 1500 behind two hometown locals Will Lin & Joe Nuxoll. Again, she did a great job in getting off the initial start and was now hounding Will Lin for the lead. Just like Jenks, the team timed her pit stop perfectly for her to leapfrog to the lead. She was in the lead for the late race restart when suddenly started to not feel well and really struggle. She held on as best she could to capture another podium result of 3rd. In PRO 1340 Reid Stewart would once again start from pole and it was dejavu from the previous race with his rivals on his rear wing all nose-to-tail. Stewart continued to execute the perfect race yet again, never wavering the entire time. On the final lap he would have a small error, just enough for savvy defending champ Mike Anzaldi to find a way past and Reid would have to settle for 2nd. 

Steve Jenks would earn the driver’s championship in Platinum class, Group-A would earn the team championship in PRO 1500, Reid Stewart finished 3rd in the PRO 1340 championship and won Rookie Of The Year honors. Group-A Racing has been involved in Blue Marble Radical Cup for 3 years, 2 of which they have had a full season rookie, both of them now having earned the rookie title, a great testament to how they develop and work with their drivers. 

“There are truly no words to describe this weekend” stated team owner Jonathan Scarallo. “I can ramble forever on how proud I am of everybody in this team, both drivers and crew. We obviously highlighted the weekend with the championships and rookie title. Having rewritten the record book the way we did, it's truly a special unforgettable weekend. Motor racing is a cruel sport where there are a lot more mediocre-bad weekends then good, and we had a beyond phenomenal one. This is such an incredible way to end a season and go into the off season with great momentum for the 2023 season!”     

Group-A Racing Takes Championship Lead at COTA

Group-A Racing Takes Championship Lead at COTA

After an intense season long battle in all three classes of the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, Group-A Racing has taken a narrow championship lead in the top Platinum class at the penultimate round this past weekend.

Group-A Racing entered three drivers for the 5th round of the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup event at COTA. Full times Reid Stewart (PRO 1340) , Steve Jenks (Platinum), and Aurora Straus (PRO 1500) rejoined the team following a successful triple podium debut weekend at Watkins Glen.

After a lot of promise showed during testing and official practice sessions, qualifying left a bit to be desired by all three drivers under the Group-A Racing tent. With a very tight field as always, all three drivers qualified 4th in their given class. Race one saw Jenks find some extra pace in his 425HP Platinum class Radical SR10, lighting up the timing board every lap with fastest lap of the race and moving forward in a hurry. Jenks found himself on the gearbox of the leade, Jon Field with a win seeming imminent. Sadly, a fuel pump issue would cause a temporary shut down of Jenks car, causing him to pull over and re cycle the system. He would lose a tremendous amount of time and go from challenging for the win to having to settle for 6th. Aurora Straus would pick up where she left off. She instantly moved forward to 3rd in the opening laps, running with series regular, Greg Gorski, for 2nd. Aurora would come across the line in 3rd extending her podium streak to 4, in as many races. Reid Stewart would find himself in an unlucky situation. A few cars tangled in front of him in the opening lap, and would collect him, creating race ending damage.

Steve Jenks would start race 2 on the pole after setting fastest lap in race 1. He would lose two spots on the opening lap to those who chose new tires for that race but was able to quickly stable pace and start to close in. Trouble would strike championship leader Robert Rossi, with him dropping out of the race lead, moving Jenks up to 2nd. Jenks would come home with a 2nd place podium result behind hometown hero, Judd Miller. Jenks gained many points on championship rivals, with them all having trouble. Aurora Straus found herself in an intense 3-way battle for 2nd with two veterans; Greg Gorski and Alain Derzi. The back-and-forth manner would carry on for the entire 40-minute race, including side-by-side battles in the final corners. Playing the long game in very dicey situations, Aurora would settle for 4th to protect the equipment for the final race that afternoon. Reid Stewart had a massive drive forward starting last, since he was taken out of the opening lap of the first race. Stewart using speed and race craft in his Fasano Textiles/Group-A Racing PRO 1340, and would charge all the way to 3rd, earning a podium from the back. He also earned the races Sunoco Hard Charger Award.

Final race of the weekend features the mid race fixed pit stop. In the race, Steve Jenks was in another intense three-way battle for the lead with John Field and hometown hero Judd Miller. The three would trade positions back and forth, eventually with Field and Jenks pulling away. Jenks was on the gearbox of Field, but struggling to find a way past, so the team elected to pit him early, hoping to achieve the ‘undercut’ on its rival. Jenks executed a very good in lap, pit entry, and the team released him at the perfect time. Jenks found himself in clear space, allowing him to lay fast laps down. When John Field exited the pits a few laps later, Steve Jenks found himself leapfrogging to the lead by 7 seconds, a well timed out and perfectly executed strategy, turning the race in Group-A’s favor. Jenks was able to cruise to victory from there, his third of the season. Aurora Straus would have some bad luck find her. In the opening laps, a shifting issue later found to be a failed actuator would cause her race to end early. Reid Stewart was involved in a 5-car battle in PRO 1340. Again, with the field tight, the team elected to pit him early hoping to achieve the undercut on the competition. Just like his team mate, Stewart executed a good in lap, pit entry and the team released him perfectly allowing him to leapfrog up to 3rd. An intense battle all around would find Stewart having to settle for 4th in a huge stacked PRO 1340 field.

Going into the season finale at Sonoma Raceway October 28-30, Steve Jenks has launched himself to the championship lead in the Platinum class. Jenks has a small 8 point lead over Rossi and Field, with Judd Miller, only 30 back. In what has been a huge learning year and his first full season in racing, Reid Stewart finds himself in an impressive 3rd in the PRO 1340 field going into the final event. Group-A Racing finds itself 2nd not far behind in the team championship in the Platinum Class and leading the PRO 1500 class.

Race Fans can re watch the live stream coverage from COTA on the Radical Motorsports Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/c/RadicalMotorsport

Group-A Racing is an exclusive dealer of Radical Motorsports for the North East. Parties interested in all things pertaining to Radical Motorsports, such as new cars, used cars, parts, service, arrive-and-drive opportunities, contact Jonathan Scarallo info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379.

Group-A Racing Drivers Earn More Wins & Podiums at Road America

Group-A Racing Drivers Earn More Wins & Podiums at Road America

In front of yet another huge crowd on the NTT Indy Car weekend, Group-A Racing drivers earned more wins and podiums in the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup races.

As always, the promoters were able to gather an immense amount of track time for the competitors, even on the ultra-high-profile NTT Indy Car weekends. Radical Cup competitors had a total of 6.5 hours of track to themselves. Throughout the 5 practice sessions the Group-A Racing Drivers all took turns at the top of the time sheets in all three classes, picking up where they left off at Barber, setting the bench mark.

In qualifying Steve Jenks put in a great lap in his SR10 for the platinum class. The immensely tight competition though would see him qualify second, only .009 of a second off the pole over the course of the 4-mile lap! Reece Everard would capture the Motul Pole Award in PRO 1500 with a mega lap to stun the field. Newcomer Jack Yang qualified inside the top 10 making immense progress throughout the weekend. Reid Stewart qualified 3rd in PRO 1340 which was only .25 of a second off the pol, in yet another ultra-tight session.

Race 1 Steve Jenks got the jump to take the lead in Platinum class from pole sitter Louis Schriber, but he had defending champ Al Miller on his tail. Reece Everard was able to pull out a gap in the PRO 1500 class over his competitors. Reid Stewart was able to move up to 2nd from his 3rd starting spot. Unfortunately, by that time, he lost a lot of time to the leader and defending class champion Mike Anzaldi. Jenks would lose the lead mid race to Al Miller but the two were still nose-to-tail battling it out. Everard continued to build a gap for his lead in the PRO 1500. Despite the huge deficit he had in the beginning, Reid Stewart kept running the leader down the entire race. Meanwhile Jack Yang had moved up steadily from his 10th place starting spot in PRO 1500 to now be running 8th. Full course yellow would come out with about 7 minutes to go, Sadly the cleanup was too immense to get done in time, with the race finishing under yellow. Jenks would earn another podium in 2nd in Platinum, Reece Everard winning PRO 1500, Jack Yang finishing 8th on debut in PRO 1500 and Reid Stewart finished 2nd in PRO 1340. After this race Group-A Racing drivers were now leading the championship in all 3 classes.

Race 2 had a mixed weather forecast in the air, with dark skies overhead. Jenks would start on pole in Platinum, Everard 2nd in PRO 1500, Yang 8th in PRO 1500 and Stewart on pole in PRO 1340. At the start, Group-A Racing drivers took the lead in all 3 classes. Everard sadly had contact on the opening lap avoiding a spinning car to damage his nose and splitter, causing him to retire the car early. Jenks would lose the lead mid race as it started to sprinkle, to 12 hours of Sebring winner Jon Field, while Stewart continued to build his lead in PRO 1340. Jack Yang would steadily move up yet again, especially as the rain became heavier. Eventually series officials would red flag the race to bring everybody in to change to wet weather tires and do a 2 lap dash to the checkered. On the last lap, Jenks would have a crash in turn 1 while running in fourth, and a few moments later, things get worse with Reid Stewart crashing out of the lead in PRO 1340 in the same corner. Jack Yang, though, continued to march forward and find his footing in the wet and earned a 3rd place result on his debut weekend!

Unfortunately, race 3 saw a withdraw of Jenks and Stewart with too much damage to fix at the track, leaving just the two PRO 1500 drivers of Everard and Yang. Everard again took the early lead but with defending class champion Gustavo Rafols all over him. A mid race mistake would see Everard lose the lead and a 4 second deficit. During the pit stop sequence found only in race 3, Everard would close that gap back down to 1.5 seconds but would see huge steps of improvement in his lap times.

“To have all 4 drivers take home hardware is absolutely fantastic” said team manager Jonathan Scarallo. Everybody under the tent with the drivers and team are continuing to do a great job. This past weekend was another great testimony to how Group-A Racing operates but also how tough the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup has become. The Group-A Racing boys are constantly towards or on top of the results sheet, but the moment one small detail is not executed or does not fall your way, you quickly move down the order. There has become no room for error in this series which is really awesome. Everybody under our tent with the drivers and team are continuing to do a great job but we can’t let up on any detail because the competitors are right there to take advantage of it.”

You can re watch the live stream of the races on the Radical Motorsport Youtube page. Next round of the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup will take place July 7-10 at the historic Watkins Glen International. For all things pertaining Radical Motorsports such as car sales, parts, test & race opportunities in Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup contact Jonathan Scarallo info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379.

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 Dominates Radical Cup Pre-Season Test

With the new 2022 Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup getting ready to launch, the series hosted a two-day test at Barber Motorsports Park. The same venue will also host the season opener in late April, running on the NTT Indy Car Series event.

Group-A Racing entered three cars, one in each class. Steve Jenks, who has been with Group-A since they entered Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, was with the team, but in a new car and class. Jenks was sampling a brand new Radical SR10 in the Platinum class instead of his usual SR3 1500. In Jenks usual SR3 1500, was open wheel driver Reece Everard, who got his first taste of Radical Sports Cars back in October with the team at NJMP. The third was Reid Stewart in his SR3 1340, making his return in his completely rebuilt car.

The Group-A Racing trio showed tremendous pace during the two-day test, constantly monopolizing the top of the time sheets. Steve Jenks would top the time sheet in the Platinum class with his SR10 5, out of the 6 sessions he participated in. In the final session he drove, Jenks set the all-time fastest lap of the test. That lap was also 4 tenths under the track record set a year ago. It was a tremendous debut for Jenks and the team who were using a brand-new car that only ran its first laps just a week before at Carolina Motorsports Park.

In the SR3 1500 class, Everard came out and was immediately to the top of the board. Everard would end five sessions of the six he participated in on the top of the time sheets. Everard got some of his first experience running in a bigger program with the engineering and coaching resources the Group-A Racing program has to offer. He was faster and better every session out, which was very impressive for his second outing in a Radical, and first time in a series hosted outing.

In SR3 1340, Reid Stewart was in his completely rebuilt car with a new chassis, all rebuilt by Group-A during the month of February. There was not a single hiccup or issue with the car running perfectly out of the box. After being out of a car for 6 months, he spent the first day building up to the new daunting Barber Motorsports Park, never setting a foot wrong and progressing all along. On Day 2, he took another huge step of progress, both in technique and the lap time, consistently in the top 2 at the end of the sessions and occasionally at the top of the board during the sessions.

“These two days were a tremendous way for us to kick off the 2022 season” commented Group-A Racing owner Jonathan Scarallo. “The Group-A Racing cars were monopolizing the top of the time sheets in all three classes and everybody definitely took notice. I was very happy with how all the drivers worked individually, but also together to help one another. Lenny did a great job as always on the engineering, as the cars ran perfectly and it was a great start to the year. No points are awarded during a test, but it certainly gives everybody under the tent a ton of confidence for when we come back here next month for when it does count!”

Group-A Racing is a professional race team since 1996 & also exclusive dealer for Radical Sports Cars in the North East. For more information on cars for purchase, arrive-and-drive opportunities with your Radical or using one of theirs, contact Jonathan via 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com

Steve Jenks Re Joins Group-A Racing For 2021 Radical Cup Championship Assault.

After a tremendously successful 2020 season, Group-A Racing & Steve Jenks are teaming up again to enter the Blue Marble Cocktail Radical Cup. Jenks will again run in the SR3 Pro 1500 class in the #68 Audien Hearing Aids/CleanLife Products/Group-A Racing/Radical New York SR3 1500.

Steve Jenks & Group-A Racing joined Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup together in 2020 with not much time to spare before the season opener. Despite that, the duo was an instant threat , turning heads from the opening practice day. Throughout the year Jenks was a consistent podium finisher and went into the season finale with a distant chance of winning the championship. Giving it all he had, including winning the final race Steve Jenks & Group-A Racing came up just a few points short, finishing a strong runner up in rookie season for both team & driver.

For the 2021 season, the two team up again with championship hopes in sight from the beginning. They have now had the off season to reflect on areas to improve, strip the car down and run through an extensive testing program. Between having a season now under their belt & pre-season testing being extremely positive, Steve Jenks & Group-A Racing feel confident in their ability to take that next step in championship standings.

“Last year was such a massive success for us, especially since we were all rookies to these cars, series, and how late we got the first car” said Group-A Racing team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “I love having Steve in one of our cars. He’s one of the most serious and intense drivers I’ve had the privilege of working with. With the two of us being so similar in that, it was a big key for us having the success we did in 2020. We have taken that same mindset and commitment into this winter hoping to propel to a championship in 2021!”

“Super excited to get the season underway with Group A Racing. Our engineer Lenny Tumenas worked hard during the winter to refine our setup approach based on a year of learning and I can feel a difference in the car during preseason testing. Also happy to welcome two new sponsors on board, Progressive Consulting and Aluminos Denver. They join Audien Hearing and Cleanlife Products in helping make our 2021 campaign happen.”

Blue Marble Radical Cup kicks its season off April 15-17 at Barber Motorsports Park running on the Indy Car weekend. This is the first of numerous Indy Car events Radical Cup will be a part of in 2021.

Group-A Racing / Radical New York is an official dealer of Radical Sports Cars, making them a complete source for all of your Radical purchase and service needs. For more info on race opportunities, cars, parts etc contact them via 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com .

Group-A Racing Wins Radical Cup Finale at Road Atlanta

Group-A Racing Wins Radical Cup Finale at Road Atlanta

Going into the final round of the 2020 Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, Group-A Racing had a shot at the championship despite being a rookie team to the series and with a rookie driver. Steve Jenks entered the final round 4th in the standings, 24 points out of the lead.

Thursday & Friday saw the usual tremendous amount of track time for competitors provided by the series. All throughout the two days, Group-A’s Steve Jenks was a consistent top 3 runner on the practice time sheets, consistently ahead of his championship rivals, helping put the pressure on. The series saw young gun Jordan Missig return to the championship. Jordan was a top finisher in the 2019 Radical Cup and ran full time in Formula 3 this year, adding to the depth of competition level.  

Qualifying would see Jordan Missig get the pole in a tight field with championship leader Al Miller barely getting second ahead of Steve Jenks. Al Miller was carrying a 10 grid spot penalty from the previous round though and that would place Steve into second for the start of race 1, setting him nicely ahead of all championship contenders. 

Race 1 would see Group-A Racing driver Steve Jenks get off to a good start running second behind Jordan with the two pulling away from the rest of the pack. A full course caution would put Jenks on the gearbox of Jordan to attempt an attack for the win. Missig & Jenks would run nose-to-tail, so evenly matched pulling away from the rest of the field, the two having nothing to separate themselves running identical lap times to one another within hundredths of a second. In the end, Jenks would have to settle for another second-place result, his fourth of the season. With it, he finished ahead of all of his championship rivals. To top it off, Al Miller received another penalty for mid race contact.  Miller, who had led the points since the opening race was now second, 3 points behind Greg Gorkski and Steve Jenk, now 3rd,only 7 points out of the lead!

Missig would start on the pole in the second race, and Jenks, second, but now Miller would start third. Miller got a great start, placing Steve down to third. After the opening lap, Jordan Missig would make a mistake though, spinning off track elevating Al Miller & Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks to first and second. The story was now the same as race one but this time with Al Miller leading Steve. Bad luck would strike Steve as he unfortunately had debris cut his right front tire, but luckily a full course caution came out. The Group-A Racing team was able to get him in and out without going down a lap. He fought his way back through the pack, even passing two cars on the last lap, one being championship rival Mel Johnson. Despite the adversity, Jenks fought his way back to fifth, with Gorkski in fourth, and Al Miller winning. This now elevated Miller back to points lead with a 10 point lead over Greg who was also 10 points ahead of Steve Jenks.

Race three would see similar starting order with Missig on pole, Jenks second and Al Miller third and Greg Gorkski fourth. This time it was Gorski getting the great start launching up to second, with Jenks third and Miller fourth, all championship contenders right there duking it out in the final round. Jordan Missig was pulling away until a mechanical failure, now elevating that battle to be for the lead of the race and championship! As soon as the pit window opened, Jenks pitted immediately with Al Miller following. Jenks was ultra-impressive with his in lap, pit stop and out lap to build a multi second gap over Al Miller. Two laps later Gorkski would then pit and when he reentered he now found himself multiple seconds behind Jenks, placing him into the lead! Jenks put his head down doing everything he could to re close the championship gap, trying to snag his first win enroute to the championship as well. Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks came across the line earning his first win of the season in dramatic fashion. Al Miller finished second, securing him the championship. With Gorkski finishing fourth, Jenks was able to pass him in the points to place second in the championship.

In the end, Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks earned his first win, runner up in the points, the team finished second in team championship despite being a 1 car effort and Jenks earned the rookie of the year award.

"What made Road Atlanta rewarding is the team performed at their best when the moment mattered the most.   Great car setup, race strategy, and coaching gave me the confidence to push hard all weekend.   We earned the race and championship results" said Steve jenks.  

“I don’t really have words to say on how proud I am of everybody’s effort and how much we loved being in the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup this season” stated team principal Jonathan Scarallo. “Rookie team to the series, rookie driver to series we came in guns blazing and a threat every single event and nearly stole this championship in our first year. I can’t say enough good things about this series and everybody involved with this Group-A Racing effort. We are so excited to come back in 2021 with a much bigger multi car program in this awesome series!”

Group-A Racing/Radical New York are now instantly full steam ahead working toward 2021 season. Drivers interested in test or race opportunities with Group-A Racing in Blue Marble Cocktail Radical Cup or anything else pertaining to Radical sports cars (new car sales, used car sales, parts etc) should contact Jonathan Scarallo info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379.

Young Gun Jacob Abel Joins Group-A Racing For Radical Cup Season Finale

Capping off a tremendously successful inaugural campaign in the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup Series, Group-A Racing is expanding to a two-car effort adding young gun, Jacob Abel, to its lineup. Abel joins Group-A Racing during the series final event at Road Atlanta November 18-22. Jacob will drive in the SR3 Pro 1500 class, driving a brand new SR3 1500 XX. The SR3 XX is the latest generation of the world’s best-selling race car.

Jacob Abel is 19 years old, born and raised in Louisville Kentucky. Initially started his racing career like many young aspiring drivers in karting, before making the transition to cars in 2017. Abel made his car debut in 2017 competing in the United States Formula 4 Series presented by Honda. Jacob continued to develop in F4 and then Formula Regional Americas (formally F3 Americas). He also competed a duel campaign in 2019 in both FR Americas and Indy Pro 2000. Highlight of the 2019 season would be him earning his maiden car victory in FR Americas at Road Atlanta. Abel will look to carry that same success & track knowledge into the Radical Cup Series at Road Atlanta from when he last visited.

Through his experience in the Honda powered F4 & FR Series, Jacob has been able to participate in the Honda Performance Development (HPD) driver development program, giving him his first taste of sports car with testing opportunities in the factory supported Acura NSX GT3 cars. Abel will now be making his sports car race debut by entering the Blue Marble Cocktail Radical Cup with Group-A Racing.  

“I am so excited to have Jacob joining us at Road Atlanta” said team principal Jonathan Scarallo. “I have known him and his family for a while as we’ve been competing in the F4US Series. He’s really been coming along the last 2 years in FR Americas, earning wins and podiums. I am really excited about being able to be a part of his sports car racing debut. I most importantly appreciate the trust from his family to provide what’s needed for him. It will naturally be a learning experience for him but I am very optimistic of earning some fantastic results.”  

"I'm very excited to get things going down in Georgia in a few days. Road Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks, and one that I have had a lot of success at in all different types of race cars. The Radical SR3 looks like an amazing car and I'm looking forward to learning it's nuances. Coming off a relatively disappointing 2020 season with only two podiums, I'm going to be hungry for good results. The Group-A Racing team has already proven themselves early in this series. With that success and my combined experience at this track, I think a good weekend could be in store!"  

Abel will join Group-A’s full-time driver Steve Jenks. Despite being a rookie & single car entry in the ultra-competitive series, Jenks and the Group-A team enter the final event in contention to win the championship.

Group-A Racing is the exclusive dealer for Radical Sports Cars in the North East. Parties interested in all things pertaining to Radical Sports Cars such as new car sales, used car sales, service, test & race opportunities contact team principal Jonathan Scarallo 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com

Group-A Racing Earns 2 Podiums at COTA Placing them In Championship Contention.

Group-A Racing Earns 2 Podiums at COTA Placing them In Championship Contention.

 Group-A Racing scored two more podiums in the most recent round of Blue Marble Radical Cup at Circuit Of The Americas. placing the team and its driver, Steve Jenks, within striking distance of the championship going into the final round at Road Atlanta in a few weeks.

 The event started on Friday where all the Blue Marble Radical Cup teams gain a tremendous amount of track time with three 45 minute practice sessions. The time was very important to Group-A Racing and its driver. Steve Jenks had never competed at COTA and it was the team’s first visit with the Radical. Both got up to speed quickly ending the day 3rd fastest in final practice.

 Saturday presented qualifying and two of the weekends three 45 minute races. Qualifying did not go as planned with a cold front moving in, throwing a curveball based on the data and knowledge gained the day before, resulting in only a 7th place qualifying effort. Knowing the speed they had before and Steve Jenks ability to move forward in prior races, everybody still felt confident in race one.

 Jenks would do just that, instantly moving up a few spots. All throughout the race he was running down the leaders, setting some of the fastest laps of the race as he moved his way up to 3rd! However, time would not be on their side as he was about to catch the two leaders and had to settle for 3rd after starting 7th.

 Race two saw Steve Jenks get a tremendous start and be side-by-side for the lead going into turn 1 on the opening lap. Unfortunately, championship leader Al Miller misjudged his brake marker in turn 1 and collided with an SR8 in front. The spinning car caused Steve to go off track to avoid the car and had to come to a stop to avoid hitting him. This resulted in the entire field passing by. Luckily, the safety car was deployed allowing the field to bunch back up. Even still, Jenks had a long road ahead being at the end of the line in the big Radical Cup field. When the green flag dropped Steve wasted no time moving his way back up and using his pace advantage in his Group-A Racing machine. Setting tremendous lap time, he moved forward and charged all the way back to 6th from last! A great comeback and a big swing in championship points saved.

 Race three had Group-A Racing driver Steve Jenks starting on the second row in his SR3 1500 class. The race would immediately go yellow and then to red flag, with two cars in the back colliding. The red flag had the race shortened to a 20 minute race with Steve restarting 3rd with championship rivals around him. Jenks and Gorkski went back and forth the entire event with Steve having to settle for another podium in third. With championship leader Al Miller having issues in two of the races and the very tight competitive nature of the Radical Cup, the top 4 in the points are now only 23 points apart. This places Group-A Racing and Steve Jenks within striking distance at the season title in their rookie season going into the finale at Road Atlanta.

“Steve really continues to do a great job learning all of these new tracks for him. That along with being super consistent all year has now placed him in contention for the championship going into the final race. We’ve been really fast all year, on the podium many times now and always right there to win. Steve has been to Road Atlanta which will help his learning curve be less steep, hopefully helping us snag this title at the very end!” said Group-A Racing owner Jonathan Scarallo.

"I felt like we had the speed to win at COTA which was exciting given that I was new to the track and Group A had not run a radical previously at COTA” commented Steve Jenks. “Group A really had the car dialed in for the 3 races and I could battle with the frontrunners. The Blue Marble Radical Cup features really close racing and I definitely learned a few race craft items for next time that will help bring home a win.   But, definitely fun to be on the F1 podium I had seen on TV for 2 of the races. Looking forward to Atlanta as that track is a favorite and we are bringing a strong race car."

Drivers interested in test & race opportunities along with Radical Sports Car purchasing info, contact Jonathan Scarallo via 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com

Radical Sportscars Opens In New York With Group-A Racing

• Serving Northeast with a presence in Manhattan 

• Radical New York is tenth dealership to open in North America

• Multiple SR3 XX race cars already en-route, and trial days planned

Radical Sportscars is expanding its extensive North American dealer network with Radical New York servicing the Northeast, including the tri-state area, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Radical New York will be spearheaded by open-wheel powerhouse Group-A Racing, run by Jonathan and Joseph Scarallo. Established in 1996 to compete in the USF2000 series, more recently Group-A has been a stalwart to the F4 US Championship, being the only team to field cars in every round since the series’ inception. The team has also partnered with the Lucas Oil School of Racing to create a development pathway for drivers from across the globe.

Along with its operational base in Lindenhurst, Long Island, Radical New York will also have a presence in the heart of Manhattan at the exclusive Classic Car Club on Pier 76, which already features a Radical RXC ‘art car’ hanging from its walls.

Radical New York will shortly commence a programme of trial days throughout the Northeast to showcase Radical’s range, including their new SR3 XX demonstrators – Radical’s latest and smartest iteration of its best-selling model.

The region is well served by iconic circuits and private member clubs including Watkins Glen, Monticello Motor Club, Lime Rock Park, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Club Motorsport, Pineview Run, and Palmer Raceway. Radical New York has established links with these circuits and local service partners to help support the many Radical owners already participating in trackdays and race events at these venues. 

The formation of Radical New York comes after Group-A Racing joined the national Blue Marble Radical Cup series earlier this year, in conjunction with Boston-based service and support partner Tummenas Motorsports. Fielding Steve Jenks, Radical New York has already achieved a hattrick of podium finishes in the highly competitive PRO 1500 class.

Based onsite at New Jersey Motorsports Park, IMSA LMP3 champions Forty7 Motorsports are another service partner of Radical New York, offering drivers in the New Jersey area a range of technical, parts and training solutions. 

Beyond immediate sales and support of new and existing drivers in the region, Radical New York has ambitions to establish a single-marque Radical series in the Northeast, alongside expanding Radical’s presence and success in SCCA and NASA events.

“We are very excited to be joining the Radical family,” commented Radical New York Dealer Principal Jonathan Scarallo. “It’s been a 12-month process to properly engineer the right plan to service the Northeast corner of the United States– providing local service centers supported by a large regional parts warehouse, and partnering with the country clubs to offer demo opportunities for people to come and try these awesome race cars.”

“The United States is Radical’s biggest market with many drivers based in the North-eastern states, so I’m delighted that we’ve found a new partner with the scale and experience to support them,” added Dan Redpath, Radical Global Sales Director. 

“Group-A Racing have an enviable reputation in US single-seater competition, and combined with the Scarallo family’s 40-year reputation in automotive product sales and support, Radical New York are well positioned to bring our exciting range of sportscars – including the newly-launched SR3 XX – to motorsport enthusiasts in the region.”

Radical New York is the latest in a raft of new Radical dealer appointments throughout the world over the last 12 months. The network has been bolstered by new representatives in Arizona, as well as the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

For more information  contact:

Radical New York
Dealer Principal – Jonathan Scarallo
T: 631-974-4379
E: info@GroupARacingTeam.com 
Headquarters: 7 Sidney Court, Lindenhurst NY 11757
Manhattan Showcase (currently featuring Rapture and RXC models): Classic Car Club, 1 Pier 76, New York, NY 10018

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 Racing’s Steve Jenks Scores 3 Podiums at Barber Motorsports Park

LINDENHURST, NEW YORK (August 9, 2020) - Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks Scores 3 Podiums at Barber Motorsports Park         
 
After a very successful debut weekend in the Blue Marble Radical Cup at Road America last month, Group-A and Steve Jenks were looking to step it up a notch. The duo accomplished just that, raising the ante with 3 podiums in round two at Barber Motorsports Park. 
 
Friday would see a tremendous amount of track time offered to all of the Blue Marble Radical Cup Series drivers with over 3 hours of track on deck on Friday alone. This was the first trip to Barber Motorsports Park for both the team and driver. The Group-A Racing machine rolled out of the trailer strong with Steve Jenks finishing in the top 3 in every session in which he participated. The team would sit out the end of the day with rain moving in. 
 
The strong pace on Friday left everybody feeling very optimistic going into qualifying Saturday morning and the first of three 40 minute races of the weekend. Sadly, qualifying did not go quite to plan, with a start-stop session and struggle to get a clear lap saw Steve Jenks ending the session a disappointing 7th.  The driver kept his head up going into race one knowing he had a very strong car underneath him to move his way forward. Jenks would do just that, instantly jumping up two spots to 5thon the opening lap. He continued to set fastest lap of the race as he cut his way through the field. Barber Motorsports Park is notorious for being difficult to pass, but Steve Jenks was proving that wrong in his Group-A Racing Radical 1500 SR3, catching cars at a rapid rate and quickly passing them as well. Steve continued this all race long running from his 7th starting spot up to 2nd! Unfortunately, he just ran out of time to make his move on the eventual race winner. This result brought both the driver and team's first podium result in just their second event ever in the series. 
 
Race two would see Jenks starting farther up in 3rd making work a bit easier than race one. A bottled up start saw Jenks lose two spots falling to 5th, but gained one back before the end of the opening lap. The entire race saw the top 4 cars running nose-to-tail the entire event, running identical lap times to one another and nobody giving an inch. Around mid race, Steve Jenks was able to take advantage of some lap traffic to make a maneuver which would move him up to 3rd. Still it would remain a four car battle all inches apart from each other. Steve made a close look on competitor George Kurtz for second on the final lap coming to the checkered side-by-side, with Steve coming home in 3rd. Another great result starting a podium streak for the Colorado driver and Group-A Racing team. 
 
Race three saw an early yellow creating a strategy decision to be made, with the mid race mandatory pit stop. When the race went back to green, points leader Indy Al Miller came into the pits instantly, while Jenks would follow in the next laps and most of the other competitors pitting at the end of the allocated pit window. Jenks was a bit unlucky with lap traffic on his outlap, causing him to get leap frogged by a few competitors in the pit sequence. Steve started to run down his competitors and moved up to fourth when points leader Indy Al Miller would go off which ended his race. The yellow would come out for that, and the lengthy clean up sadly caused the race to never go back to green. In post race review, it was determined that one of the competitors on the podium passed under yellow giving him a penalty, and another jumped his pit stop with him leaving prematurely. The penalty to both would then see Group-A Racing Steve Jenks move up to 2nd in the final result!
 
The three podium weekend result has everybody in the team feeling upbeat, especially being the team and driver's only second ever Radical Cup event. Naturally, they will be looking for nothing less than wins at the next round of Laguna Seca in September. The great start sees Steve Jenks 3rd in driver points only a few out of the lead. It also sees the Group-A second in team points despite them being the only single car team! 
 
“This weekend has been absolutely spectacular for us” said team owner Jonathan Scarallo. “Lenny and Cory did an awesome job with everything. Steve has made so much progress with these cars in just one event and these results are a dream for our new program with these cars. It’s a true testament to Steve as a driver and the crew in place for us to be such a competitive operation against all these multi car teams that have been running in this series for numerous years!” 
 
“Preparation was the key to Barber” comment Steve Jenks. “We had a good test at Club Motorsports to dial in the racecar and Jonathan and I did multiple simulator sessions prior to the event.   We rolled off the trailer ready to go and were able to go fast from the first session and fine tune the rest of the event.   I'm learning the race craft with these cars as the races are highly competitive and fun.   Barber was a good step forward for us and I am looking forward to the next event with Group A at Leguna Seca."
 
Group-A Racing has three brand new cars arriving at the teams shop in September. Parties interested in other things pertaining Radical Sports such as new car sales, parts, service, test & race opportunities, contact Jonathan Scarallo at 631-974-4379 or info@GroupARacingTeam.com. 

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Group-A Racing Joins Blue Marble Radical Cup

LINDENHURST, NEW YORK (JUNE 18, 2020) - Group-A Racing is pleased to announce the expansion of the team’s operations into the Blue Marble Radical Cup Series.   The team is also becoming an official Radical service and sales provider.
 
Group-A Racing, based in New York, has raced professionally in North America since 1996 competing in open wheel and sports car racing. Over the last 4 years, the team has been part of the incredibly competitive F4 US Championship Series. Adding Radical racing allows the team to offer a highly professional program for both gentlemen racers and F4 drivers who want to pursue sports car/prototype racing.
 
The team will compete for the 2020 Blue Marble Radical Cup with Colorado based driver, Steve Jenks. He will drive the #68 Audien Hearing Aids/Group-A Racing/CCC 1500CC SR3 Radical. Steve has raced open wheel cars for the past 15 years.    In 2018, he won the F2000 Championship Series and has podium finishes in the SCCA Runoffs and June Sprints.   Steve will run in the Blue Marble Radical Cup with a familiar face.  Lenny Tumenas engineered the championship winning F2000 car and will engineer the Group-A Racing Blue Marble Radical Cup entry.
 
“I’m really pleased to make my Blue Marble Radical Cup debut with Group A Racing” said Steve Jenks.    “I’m familiar with the team from open wheel racing and I jumped at the opportunity to join Group A.  Engineer Lenny Tumenas and I will have a learning curve with these Radicals but they are an absolute blast to drive and the testing has gone well.”
 
“This has been a long time coming and I am so excited to see this come to fruition,” said Group-A Racing team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “Tom & everybody at Radical has been awesome for helping us with this expansion and getting us on our feet. The experience with these cars has been great and I can’t wait to grow this program to service more drivers at club and national events. Steve has been awesome to deal with and has been coming up to speed really quickly in a very short amount of time. He will definitely give a lot of competition to the other drivers.”
 
The 2020 Blue Marble Radical Cup will kick off its 2020 season this weekend at Road America. For more information in regards to all things Radical, such as events, car sales, parts sales etc. contact Jonathan Scarallo info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379.

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

Group-A Racing Pass 27 Cars To End The Weekend with 4th

Lindenhurst, New York (April 18, 2017) – The season opener for the 2017 FIA F4 United States Championship powered by Honda came to a close this past weekend. While the weekend got off to a slow start, Group-A Racing capped it off with a hard charge fight to the front earning a 4th place finish.

The team entered one car for this weekend with Jonathan Scarallo getting behind the wheel despite having not been in a car to race for 5 years. That along with the last minute nature had the team starting off a bit behind, but had constant improvement in the incredibly competitive 33 car field.

Qualifying was interrupted with red flag stoppages only allowing the team to put a time in good enough for 19th, only 1.061 off pole in the very tight field.

“Qualifying certainly did not go to plan” said Jonathan Scarallo. “We made a change to the car which was good but unfortunately never really got to put in a lap with the stoppages and no draft help. I think we can move forward in the race though.”

Scarallo got a good jump from the standing start to move up a few spots before a full course yellow came out only a handful of laps into the race. Restarts proved to be a strength for Jonathan despite not having racing in the past 5 years. He gained 3 more spots on the initial restart before passing New Zealander Brandon Leitich for 11th. Unfortunately yet another full course yellow came out and the race would end under that safety car period.

Race 2 saw Group-A Racing’s Jonathan Scarallo starting 15th and he would yet again get a good jump off the line to gain a few spots before a full course yellow coming out on lap 3 just like in race 1. Jonathan got yet another great restart to jump up to 8th and chasing down the cars in front to then quickly move up to 6th. The next lap he would get caught in a 4 wide scenario, which wisdom prevailed in the long run to back out, but pushed him back to 9th. Unfortunately, the full course yellow came out right after this and the race never got restarted again and had to settle for 9th.

More changes and work were done to the car to improve for the final race which was needed, since Scarallo was starting 18th for the final race of the weekend. As he did in the previous two races, a good jump off the line saw him gain 4 spots on the start and avoiding an opening lap crash allowed the Group-A Racing driver to move up to 10th in the opening two laps before the full course yellow came out. Yet again Scarallo got past a car on the restart, moving him up to 9th and made a 3 wide pass a few laps later to move up to 6th. Scarallo made quick work to catch the top 5 cars but was running out of time. He passed Brandon Leitich for 5th with three laps to go and got around Cape Motorsports Mathias Soler-Obel on the final lap for 4th just coming up short to get Forcier as well for the final spot on the podium.

“All-in-all this weekend has been very good. Naturally the competitor has taken over inside of me and I want better results, but I’m pleased with how everything went this weekend. I was worried that my driving and race craft would be very rusty since I have not raced since 2011, but I got over that very quickly and everybody with the Group-A Racing team did a great job, making the car better for me every single race. Were all going to do our homework and come back stronger for the next one at Indianapolis.”

Group-A Racing will see 2016 F4 U.S Championship runner up Konrad Czaczyk join them for the races at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport) and Circuit of the Americas. Drivers interested in testing and racing with Group-A Racing in the other 2017 F4 events contact them via 631-974-4379 or GroupARacing@aol.com

Group-A Racing Commits to F4 United States Championship With 4 Cars

Lindenhurst, New York (October 1^st, 2015) - This time last year Group-A Racing was making preparations to compete in the inaugural season of the Formula Lites Series. The Formula Lites cars are built by Crawford composites, powered by Honda engines, run on Pirelli tires and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. Twelve months later Group-A Racing is pleased to announce the expansion of operations into the new F4 United States Championship. The F4 United States Championship is a new FIA sanctioned international series, with the cars built by Crawford Composites, powered by Honda engines, run on Pirelli tires and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing with the FIA affiliation. The series will serve as a starting point for drivers making the transition from karts to cars. It will also serve as a feeder series to the Formula Lites Series after drivers have competed in the F4 Championship and are ready to move up.

Group-A Racing has already purchased four cars from Crawford and will have some of the first cars coming out of the factory. The aggressive approach is to make sure the team can be ‘first in best dressed’ for the inaugural season. This same approach was used for them with Formula Lites in 2015, which allowed the team to have a lot of success winning races, including a 1-2 sweep at VIR.

F4 is a global concept created by the FIA being used around the world. All the series are spec series with carbon chassis cars, paddle shift, and engines making 160HP. The concept is brought in to make economical equipment and operating cost while still giving all the latest technology and safety to the drivers. The series will be the only junior category in the United States at the moment that a driver can earn points to one day achieve a FIA super license to race in the pinnacle of motorsports - Formula 1.

“Formula 4 is the perfect introduction class for our program as a team,” said team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “We are all about driver development and we have been missing a proper introductory series to transfer the drivers from karts to cars. Formula 4 gives the drivers all the tools they need, with modern state of the art cars and fantastic commercial partners such as Honda, Pirelli, Crawford, SCCA, FIA etc. On top of that, it’s an economical series to run in creating a lot of value for the drivers. It will be a great training platform for drivers to get their start in cars and then move up the ladder with us to Formula Lites.”

The team is already in deep negotiations with numerous drivers to fill the four seats they are offering. Interested drivers can contact the team via 631-974-4379 or GroupARacing@aol.com.

Group-A Racing Earns 2-3 Finish at Pikes Peak

Lindenhurst, New York (September 10, 2015) - Rounds 9 & 10 have come and gone this past weekend for Group-A Racing in the inaugural Formula Lites Series at Pikes PeakInternational. Group-A Racing drivers Jackie Ding & Jose Armida earned a 2-3 finish in both rounds after showing vey strong pace throughout the weekend.

The weekend started off with the promoters test day. Jackie Ding finished the morning quickest on the time sheets with Jose Armida not far behind. The next day gave the drivers official practice sessions & qualifying for race one.

Qualifying turned into a very exciting battle for pole position. Group-A Racing’s Jackie Ding initially put the car on the pole to end up on the outside pole nipped by .03 of a second. Jose Armida earned 3^rd only four tenths off.

“From one perspective I am incredibly pleased, but the competitor in me is very bitter at the moment” said team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “I am very proud of the cars we put on track and the effort both drivers and the team put in, but it’s tough to come so close to earning the pole and not getting it.The last two races we have missed the pole by a total of 1 tenth of a second when you add up the difference from both events. It’s all good though, we’ll try and get it in the race when it really counts.”

In race one Jackie Ding & championship leader Pappereli battled it out for the lead, trading fastest lap of the race back and forth. As the race went on Pappereli was able to stretch abit of a lead taking the win over Ding. Jose Armida was tremendously consistent and ran 3^rd the whole race to add another podium to his tally forthe year.

Race two, the top four were inverted placing Jose Armida on the outside pole and Jackie Ding in 3^rd for the start. Going into turn one both Group-A Racing drivers and Pappereli were three wide and had some minor contact during the fierce tight battle. Coming out of turn one the running order was Bell, Armida,Papereli and Ding all nose-to-tail. Jose immediately pounced on Bell in turn two on lap one to take the lead. Armida led the first few laps with Pappereli and Group-A Racing team mate Jackie Ding chasing him down. The three battled it out the first third of the race. Eventually when the checkered flag flew,Group-A Racing would earn another 2-3 finish with Ding 2^nd and Armida 3^rd.

Post EventQuotes:

Team manager Jonathan Scarallo: “Overall I am happy with everything from this weekend. We were part of very close battles in qualifying and both races, but sadly come up a bit short. I am very happy with the way we have developed our cars; both drivers told us the cars were perfect during the races for them which is great to hear. Now we will keep working hard on developing our package and developing our drivers to hopefully finally earn a pole at MSR Houston and hopefully a couple more wins.”

Jackie DingDriver #86 Huawei, EVE Energy, Zone District FL-15: The results certainly weren't bad, but I'm also frustrated about the fact that we couldn't get a first place or a pole, or just a fastest lap! Frustration aside, I'm really happy about how far we have come from the first race in Thompson. I would love to end the season strong in MSR Houston, so that's what I'll work toward until then!

Jose Armida Driver #7 MSR Houston FL-15: "It was a good weekend. Even though I didn't achieve the results I was looking for, I was able to be very consistent. Second race was more exciting than first one, I lead some laps but I couldn’t quite get the win. I will continue to work, so I can be better at my home race at MSR Houston."

Group-A Racing Earns 1-2 Finish at VIR

Lindenhurst, New York (June 28, 2015) - Group-A Racing had a record setting weekend this past weekend during the Formula Lites event at Virginia International Raceway. The team was the first ever in series history to achieve a 1-2 sweep with its drivers Jackie Ding & Jose Armida. It had been 5 weeks since the last race at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Group-A Racing kept busy during the break with a testing program to further develop their car setups, as well as coaching its drivers to improve doing race simulations and qualifying simulations. After successful couple of days the team and its drivers were feeling confident going into the event.

The weekend did not start off as everybody had hoped with the initial expected speed not showing. The drivers mainly worked with their driver coach ,Jonathan Scarallo, to make the necessary improvements to find the time needed.

Qualifying would give mixed emotions for the teams drivers. Jose Armida made a very big improvement yet again and earned the outside pole. Jackie Ding, sadly had a mistake on his third flying lap that forced an early end to his session. With that, he still he managed to qualify 3^rd.

“Overall I am pleased with how the weekend has gone” said team manager and driver coach Jonathan Scarallo. “I have worked really hard coaching the drivers and they have done a great job of taking the coaching, applying it ,and therefore going quicker every time. We hoped we could maybe grab the pole, but still it was a good showing and we can challenge for the win tomorrow.”

At the start, Jackie Ding challenged his Group-A Racing teammate going into turn one. Jose would hold him off and continue to for the next three laps. On lap four Jackie got by his teammate going into turn one and set his sights on the leader who had built a 4 second gap while the two Group-A Racing drivers battled. Ding & Papperlli started to trade fastest lap of the race causing the lead to stay at the 4 second gap. Through persistent pressure applied by Ding, Papperlli made a mistake in the final corner giving Jackie the lead and Jose 2^nd. The Group-A Racing duo kept it that way to the checkered flag giving the team and the Formula Lites Series their first ever 1-2 finish.

In race two Jose Armida started third and Jackie Ding started fourth. Both drivers got good starts moving up to 2^nd and 3^rd. The Group-A Racing duo hounded Nick Neri for the lead. Unfortunately, Jackie’s race would come to an early end, when a parts failure occurred in the left rear. Jose Armida started to run Neri down for the lead, cutting it down lap-by-lap. Armida got to the leader at the very end but did not have enough time to find a way past, coming home with another second place finish.

“This result is such an incredible feeling” said Jonathan Scarallo “We worked really hard during the break and to earn a 1-2 finish the first race back is incredible. Everybody in the team and the drivers have worked so hard this year and it’s great to see the on track results showcasing the work that has been put in. It’s very unfortunate to have the mechanical situation with Jackie in race two. If it was not for that we might have swept both races. It’s the first time one of our cars has had a mechanical DNF since 2009, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ll get it fixed for the next one.”

"I'm extremely happy about the progress that we made and the results that we have achieved together. Not only did my driving improve a lot with help from the team, our understanding of these Formula Lites cars also grew immensely. To come home with a victory feels amazing, not to mention it being a one-two finish for Group-A Racing. It's the perfect way to say "Thank You“ to the team! Before the next race, I'll be working harder than ever to get another victory!” said Jackie Ding

"It was a very good weekend for everyone. The team, Jackie and I worked very hard the last days and I think it payed off. We are the first team in Formula Lites to have a 1-2 and I think that it is pretty special. Looking forward to do it all over again at Carolina Motorsports Park next month!" said Jose Armida.

For more information on race and testing opportunities with Group-A Racing contact them via 631-957-3901 or GroupARacing@aol.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.