American driver Jackson Wolny has been selected as the inaugural winner of the FAT Racing Shootout and has secured a fully-funded season in British Formula 4 this year.
The 16-year-old was one of four drivers battling to claim the sizeable prize after impressing in the FAT Karting League World Finals in California at the end of last year.
Wolny was a wildcard entry to the shootout after finishing third in his final, and was up against fellow American Shea Aldrich, British competitor Ellis McKenzie and Scotland-based South African Monde-Jnr Konini.
The quartet faced a series of karting assessments at the Shenington track, before completing simulator tests and then experiencing an F4 car for the first time at the Spanish Guadix circuit during the five-day shootout in February.
Wolny impressed with his performances and has now begun a period of intense preparation after securing his place on the British F4 grid with Xcel Motorsport.
“When I figured it out, I was screaming – I was so excited!” Wolny told Autosport about when he found out he had secured the prize. “My whole life’s pretty much changed. I’ve moved here [to the UK] at this point, I’ve got to drive an F4 car a few times again already, which is insane and so fun. It’s just awesome.
“Getting the opportunity to pursue what was originally the dream is crazy, especially in the last few years it didn’t even seem like a possibility and now it’s right in front of me and I’m in it. They truly took into account all the data and everything they could to make this fair and it seems like almost too good to be true, but that’s just what it is. It’s an insane opportunity.”
Photo by: FAT Racing
For Illinois native Wolny, the cold and wet conditions at Shenington were “definitely the roughest for me” of the shootout, while he relished the chance to sample the F4 car.
The shootout was created by former Formula 1 engineer Rob Smedley and Ferdi Porsche as part of their ambitions to make motorsport more meritocratic and enable those from humble backgrounds to have the chance to compete.
The first phase of this was creating the FAT Karting League that offers electric arrive-and-drive karting contests in several markets around the world, and they are now providing opportunities for drivers to take the step into cars.
“Jackson has earned his place as our 2026 Formula 4 driver through a process that was rigorous, objective and uncompromising,” said Smedley. “This wasn’t a commercial decision, and it wasn’t influenced by background or budget; it was decided on outright performance.
“Junior motorsport has drifted too far from pure merit, and we set out to prove that there is another way. Promoting Jackson from FAT Karting League proves that standards can be raised when access widens.
“For the first time, our ecosystem has taken a driver from grassroots karting into F4 purely on ability; something we are incredibly proud of.
“Now the focus shifts to execution at the next level for both the team and Jackson.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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