Everett Stack '25 burns up the track in F4
St. John’s has a competitive Formula 4 racer in the Sophomore class. Formula 4 racing is a step up from karting and allows young drivers to drive a single-seat race car. The cars go from 0-60mph in a little over 4 seconds and reach top speeds of 165mph. Formula 4 was designed to be an affordable tool to help new and young drivers develop their racing skills.
Everett Stack ’25 began his racing career at twelve years old. His first memories of racing go back to when he first got in the car and had to learn how everything in the car works. Stack said, “It’s harder than it looks. There’s a bunch of things to it, like how to brake, when to brake, how to manage tires, turning, gearing, braking, and gassing. My first memory would be learning all that stuff, memorizing it so I could be better than other people and better than my previous self.” This was also the greatest challenge for Stack because he needed to memorize these things to not crash and stay on the track.
Stack got into F4 racing through a TikTok video. He came across an F1 video, the highest tier of racing, and thought it looked like fun. He was already into karting, which is racing go-karts. He would go on the weekends with friends and enjoyed it. He then saw a video about how to get into F1 racing, and that led to him finding F4. Stack tried out for a team and made it. Stack has been influenced by the support of his father who takes time out of his busy schedule to fly to the races with him.
Stack races with a team called Jensen Global Advisors, owned and coached by a retired professional driver Eric Jensen. The team provides him with the car he races in. Preparation for the long, 18-race season begins when Stack travels to the tracks to get practice sessions in before the races. He has four to five, thirty-minute sessions a day. During these sessions, Stack gets a feel for the track by driving around it, trying to get the fastest time. Stack practices at any tracks that are open. There is a track in Virginia that he practices on, but it is not on the calendar for F4 this year. He also practices at the tracks that are on the schedule for the season. He would fly out Friday, practice four to five times Saturday and Sunday, and then he would race.
Stack has a big race coming up in Louisiana at New Orleans Motorsports Park. He feels nervous because he has a chance to make the podium which will help earn his team points that will affect their ranking. If Stack wins enough races and earns his team enough points, he will have the opportunity to move up to F3 next season. Stack feels pressure as he tries to progress through every class of car available until he reaches F1. To calm these nerves, Stack listens to music before his races, and one song, in particular, is his favorite, “California Gurls” by Katy Perry. Even though Stack feels the pressure and is nervous, he is excited and looks forward to the upcoming season and all its races.
