Shift Up Now Athletes Chloe Chambers and Emily Linscott competed in rounds seven, eight and nine of the F4 United States Championship on June 25-27, 2021 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the third event of the season.
Qualifying for the first race was rained out, putting the 27 entries on the starting grid in order based on their championship points.
Chambers, driving the No. 8 for Future Star Racing and Wings & Wheels Foundation, started 19th. When the green flag dropped, speed and skilled overtaking allowed her to advance to a P10 finish and earn her first points of the season.
“It feels like my first points finish has been a long time coming,” said Chambers. “I’ve come so close at both the first two events, that to finally lock down my first top ten, especially starting from the back of the grid, feels amazing. I know it’s just the first points finish, but it means a lot to me, Greg, Al, Kelly and everyone on the Future Star Racing team that we’re no longer talking about potential, and we’re starting to talk about results.”
Linscott, driving the No. 99 for Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport, started 13th. Despite going into the race with very minimal practice time in the days prior, she still managed to hold onto a P15 spot at the checkered flag.
Continuously-changing track conditions – and related driver adaptation – were a significant factor in the hot and sunny weekend.
In race two, Chambers ran in the top ten for the second half, earning a P10 finish but was assessed a post-race penalty for contact with another driver, dropping her out of the points. Linscott started 21st and advanced one spot to finish P20 for round eight.
In the third and final race of the weekend, Linscott drove from the back of the field up to a P19 finish. Chambers was involved in an early-race incident that took her out of contention for a third consecutive top-ten finish.
“This was a tough weekend for me and I really struggled with the changing track conditions,” said Linscott. “A track that changes this much is not something I’ve ever had to deal with before, but I’ll learn from it and be stronger in the future. Right now I’m focused on round four at Brainerd, learning another new track, and looking forward to getting back up towards the top ten.”
Looking ahead, Chambers and Linscott will head to Brainerd International Raceway on July 16-18, 2021 for the next rounds of the F4 United States Championship.