Top-level racing judge, one in a state (4)
I believe the answer is:
fiji
'a state' is the definition.
(Fiji is an example)
'top-level racing judge one' is the wordplay.
'top-level racing' becomes 'fi' (resembles F1, Formula One).
'judge' becomes 'J' (abbreviation for judge).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'fi'+'j'+'i'='FIJI'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for fiji that I've seen before include "Pacific island nation, capital Suva" , "Southwest Pacific republic made up of 844 islands" , "part of the Pacific" , "Group of islands in the South Pacific" , "Country of many islands" .)