Photo credit: Formula 4 United States Championships PR

Over the past two days, a dozen teams competing across the three levels of Parella Motorsport Holdings’ open-wheel ladder set down lap times down south at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana.

No official timing was available from the test, so whoever ran fastest is an anomaly. Still, piecing together from various teams’ social media platforms you can get an idea of who was at the test and will take part in the first race weekend in over two weeks.

Here’s a look at some of the drivers who took part who might make some waves across the three levels of the championship in 2025, and the teams and series they will be running for.

Alex Popow – MLT Motorsports – F4 US

Very few drivers across the country spark as much excitement as 2023 Formula Inter champion Alex Popow, who received the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship to help him compete in F4 US in 2025. Popow already ran a round for the team in 2024 and dominated, picking up MLT’s first two wins in the series at the Circuit of the Americas last fall. If given the chance over a full season, Popow is a certified championship contender who has been waiting for a shot for a long time.

Titus Sherlock – Crosslink – FR Americas

It’s hard to have a conversation about the FR Americas title race in 2025 without including Titus Sherlock in that conversation. Sherlock returns to the grid this season after winning four races in 2024 and is also coming off of competing in the opening USF Pro 2000 round in St. Petersburg a few weeks prior. He’ll definitely be near the front of the field again, and stands out as the title favorite heading into 2025 in Formula Regional after his strong pace at nearly every track the series ran at.

Kekai Hauanio – Crosslink – F4 US

After finishing second in Ligier JFC in 2024, Hauanio gets a deserving step up to F4 in 2025. After two successful years driving in the JFC-level car, it’ll be fascinating to see how he does in the jump to the new-gen car in 2025. Keep an eye on Hauanio at Mid-Ohio in particular, where he picked up two wins and a second place finish in 2024.

Drew Szuch – Berg Racing – Ligier JFC

In one of the greatest racing underdog stories viewers got to witness in 2024, Drew Szuch finished sixth in both the drivers and teams standings in Ligier JFC last year as an owner-driver. He had his strongest finishes towards the back half of the season too, with four top-five finishes in the last seven races. Watch out for Szuch, who with the backing of Berg Racing in their second year on the grid, might be an outside candidate for the JFC title as he looks to turn those top five finishes into more podiums and even wins.

Clemente Huerta – US NG Racing – F4 US

Watch this space because while not confirmed for 2025 yet, Chilean national karting champion Clemente Huerta was one of the most-established drivers to take part in this week’s test and if he gives a season in F4 U.S. a shot, he will be really quick. Chilean drivers have a lot of history in the Formula Regional/Formula 4 ladder (see Nico Ambiado’s Formula Regional win in 2024) and if Huerta takes part in the 2025 season at any level for any team, he should be right up there with the best of them.

Jake Pollack – JENSEN – FR Americas

Jake Pollack picked up multiple podiums in Ligier JFC across a partial season in 2024 and while the jump to FR Americas is going to be a large one, the young Texan looks ready to take it in stride and should be in the fight for more podiums in 2025. I’d keep an eye on Pollack particularly as a driver who can finish the season a lot stronger than he started, having scored his first Formula Regional points in the final race of the season at CotA last fall.

Luca Day – LC Racing Academy – Ligier JFC

Canadian Luca Day got experience during the Formula FARA spring shootout last weekend when he carved through the field for a sixth place finish in the final race of the weekend, picking up an award for the amount of positions he gained. As he adapts to car racing in 2025 and takes part in Ligier JS F4, watch how he does as Canadians have been known for making a large impact on the series in the past few seasons.

Brady Golan – Toney Driver Development – FR Americas

Brady Golan is running a jam-packed 2024 with USF2000, sports car and then Formula Regional Americas action. He had his best finish of 2024 in open-wheel action in FR Americas last year, where he picked up the first podium in team history for Toney Driver Development at CotA. With all the seat time Golan will get in 2025, expect him to challenge for more Formula Regional podiums this year.

Roman and Cash Felber – Champagne Racing – Ligier JFC

Identical twins Cash Felber and Roman Felber both scored points in their debut round in Ligier JFC last season at Mid-Ohio where in the final race of the weekend, Roman put together a sixth-place finish with Cash in ninth to put together successful results during their debut in the series. Now that they’re going to be back in 2025, expect plenty of more points scoring finishes from the well-prepared brothers this upcoming year.

Zach Fourie – JENSEN – Ligier JFC

South African driver Zach Fourie took two wins to open his open-wheel racing campaign on the west coast in the Formula Pro USA F4 class at Sonoma to prep for what will should be a fascinating campaign in Ligier JFC in 2025. Fourie also competed in the 2024 JFC season finale at the Circuit of the Americas, picking up a best finish of eleventh.

The season for each of the three series will kick off on March 27-30. Subscribe to our website for USOpenWheelNation’s comprehensive coverage of the 2025 season.