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Scott Tucker, A Year In Review: The Road Before The 24

By Brent Arends

Scott Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports teammates recently began the final quarter of a racing year that has included numerous podium appearances, multiple car changes, incredible accomplishments and yet still room for improvement. Tucker, owner and driver for Level 5, has been a leader for the team despite the rookie status he maintained just months ago. His tight, balanced driving has earned him top honors in the American Le Mans Series as Rookie of the Year and Champion Driver in 2010. His races often end with stints on the podium, and his career has only just begun.

As Tucker, his co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz and team manager David Stone prepare to close the calendar year with the all-important Petit Le Mans and the Ferrari International Finals, the stakes are high—the team has woven itself a reputation of excellence that is best understood by looking back at what has made 2011 a stunning year for Level 5 Motorsports.

In January, the Level 5 team began its 2011 race schedule with the GRAND-AM The Roar before the 24 test sessions, in Daytona, Florida. Its two Microsoft Office-sponsored entries proved themselves powerful vehicles for their drivers’ talents. During the final test session the No. 055 Microsoft Office BMW Riley and the No. 95 Microsoft Office BMW Riley finished 2-3. Tucker, Bouchut, Diaz and Mark Wilkins drove the No. 55 and sped through a 127.533 mph lap, just a half-second behind Starworks Motorsports Ford Riley, No. 8. Tucker also drove the No. 95, along with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Raphael Matos and Richard Westbrook. The drivers completed a lap of 127.465 mph, a time less than one-tenth of a second off of the No. 55 BMW Riley.

The Level 5 team proved its versatility as the season opened up with rule changes and a freshly paved racetrack at Daytona International Speedway. The three-day test session for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series was an indicator of things to come for the team. During the practiced sessions, the team gradually built momentum by making small changes with every run, eventually building up to the point that the drivers were barely off the top speed by weekend’s end.

In the fourth test session, the No. 95 rose to 5th on the speed chart with a lap of 125.898 mph. Its counterpart, the No. 55, earned its way to a second-place position by the sixth session with a lap of 126.9189 mph.

Not only did Tucker drive both cars for the Roar before the 24, he was also a participant in the Sports Car Club of America’s Double National event at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida. He finished second both days of the race. “I want as much time on the track as possible,” he said at the time. “Getting in tune with the car is paramount to setting up for a successful season.”

The Roar before the 24 is much like preseason games in other sports; it gives drivers a chance to shake off any lingering problems from the previous year and preview the type of year that is to come. Many big motorsports names are on hand at the Roar before the 24, and many of the stars who test at the Roar are enrolled in the Rolex 24 at Daytona during subsequent weekends.

The results of the Roar before the 24 set Level 5 Motorsports in a perfect position for season’s start: beating the competition, but with some room for improvement. By exhibiting talent, control and skill on the raceway, Tucker and his teammates immediately established Level 5 Motorsports as a frontrunner for the coming races. Next up: the Rolex 24.

Brent Arends has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.motorsport.com/#/all/search/?q=scott%252520tucker

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Posted on October 18, 2011 by , Reply

Petit Le Mans Will Be The Anniversary Of Scott Tucker’s Professional Debut

By Kaitlyn Tillman

The pinnacle of the 2011 American Le Mans series takes place on Oct. 1 with the 14th annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. For Scott Tucker, driver and owner for Level 5 Motorsports, the race marks the beginning of his sixth year of professional racing. In 2006, he made his professional debut at Petit Le Mans, and from there, his career took off.

“There are not many Americans that get to race there, first and foremost, so I feel very privileged to be among that group,” he said. “This year, we’re the only American prototype team there. We feel very fortunate we were selected to race there.”

The Petit Le Mans race is an endurance race modeled after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is its equivalent for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series. Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz founded it, and the first iteration ran on Oct. 10, 1998—and Panoz must have had a thing for tens, because the race covers a maximum of 1,000 miles or a minimum of 10 hours, whichever comes first. Class winners of Petit Le Mans automatically qualify for the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Tucker has increasingly focused on the American Le Mans Series as his career has continued. After he founded Level 5 Motorsports in 2008, his main actions have included drafting talented veterans known for incredible precision even at maximum speeds. This year’s Petit Le Mans has unofficially been the holy grail in Tucker’s eyes: Mid-season, he announced the switch from the team’s Nos. 55 and 95 Microsoft Office-sponsored LMP2 cars to a brand new, right-off-the-line HPD ARX-01g chassis, the result of a partnership between Honda Performance Development and Wirth Research. Tucker pushed hard to get the car finished as quickly as possible, of course without sacrificing quality. While making the transition between cars, Tucker even withdrew from ALMS races in Lime Rock Park and a huge one at Silverstone in Great Britain, choosing instead to focus on the all-important Petit ahead.

Now, Tucker has added a fourth elite driver to his already well-stacked team. Marino Franchitti will join the team and its new car—which Tucker marks as best in its class—for the 2011 race at Road Atlanta. Franchitti has extensive experience with the HPD prototype family, having participated in the first year of development of the ARX-01a with Andretti Green Racing before spending some LMP2 time with Dyson Racing. The addition of Franchitti to the lineup is an obvious sign that Tucker is going for the win at Petit Le Mans, though that’s never not the case when Tucker enters a race track. He is a three-time national driving champion. Level 5 Motorsports’ performance in 2010 during its debut year in the American Le Mans Series sent them to the top of the podium and bumped them into the LMP2 category.

Tucker has made giant strides since his Petit Le Mans professional debut in 2006, and this year he’s possibly the most prepared he’s ever been. A victory would mean another addition to Tucker’s unbelievable record in the past five years, and moving to the LMP1 category would mean that Tucker has made it to the top class in the sport he seemingly was born to compete in. Whatever the results end up meaning for Level 5 Motorsports, the work they’ve already put in this year make it clear that the team is one of the most prolific, aggressive racing organizations in the world.

Kaitlyn Tillman has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year to keep you posted about the success of the dream team. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.planetlemans.com/?s=scott+tucker

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Posted on October 17, 2011 by , Reply

Scott Tucker, A Year In Review: The 12 Hours Of Sebring

By Kaitlyn Tillman

Scott Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports teammates recently began the final quarter of a racing year that has included numerous podium appearances, multiple car changes, incredible accomplishments and yet still room for improvement. Tucker, owner and driver for Level 5, has been a leader for the team despite the rookie status he maintained merely months ago. His tight, balanced driving has earned him top honors in the American Le Mans Series as Rookie of the Year and Champion Driver in 2010. His races often end with stints on the podium, and his career has only just begun.

As Tucker, his co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz and team manager David Stone prepare to close the calendar year with the all-important Petit Le Mans and the Ferrari International Finals, the stakes are high—the team has woven itself a reputation of excellence that is best understood by looking back at what has made 2011 a stunning year for Level 5 Motorsports.

In mid-March, following a modest but strong showing at the Rolex 24 at Daytona several weeks earlier, the Level 5 Motorsports team made its LMP2 debut. After winning its LMP class in 2010, the drivers nabbed the LMP2 distinction. As has become somewhat of a tradition in the past year, the team was working feverishly to finish its entry car in time for the starting flag. In a matter of just days, the Lola Honda was finished and shipped to Florida for its race debut and the team’s class debut.

Level 5 drivers Scott Tucker, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Luis Diaz split time commanding the racetrack. Tucker told members of the media that the 12 Hours of Sebring was a “test run” for the Lola Honda, as it had come straight off the assembly floor, but if Sebring was a test, Level 5 Motorsports scored an A+. Even in the face of a handful of mishaps and issues, the drivers drove strong and finished strong, making up for any mistakes with skillful maneuvering around turns and careful, strategic straightaway shots. The Level 5 Motorsports team secured an LMP2 victory, reliving their LMP success from the previous year. Tucker also won the Champion Driver award at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2010.

The Lola Honda wasn’t the fastest car through the straights, but she shined when the track started to bend. Tucker and Diaz made the first rounds of the Sebring International Speedway and made clear their class dominance early on. Strong showings from the drivers on the first two legs of the race still left work to be done by Hunter-Reay, a Florida native. Hunter-Reay drove an excellent leg, recovering plenty of time for the team and ultimately whizzing past the finish line at the front of the pack.

“The team had some issues but made up for lost time,” Tucker said. “Ryan had a grew last few laps.” Although the Lola Honda was barely finished before tackling a notoriously grueling 12-hour race, the car didn’t show any signs of fatigue or wear at race’s end. The team didn’t face any mechanical issues, and nary a scratch was visible on the body at the end of the day. “We’re pleased with the vehicle performance,” Tucker said. “We knew we had a great car, and we’re eager to see what we can do with it.”

The Level 5 team, along with other entries, donned Japan stickers on their cars to honor the country after the earthquake and tsunami that had occurred in the time leading up to the Sebring race.

Reaching podium on the first ALMS appearance of the year was exactly the start Level 5 Motorsports had hoped for coming into Sebring. With plenty of races to come before the championship Petit le Mans in October, they had a lot of work ahead of them, a lot of miles to drive, and a lot of potential for successes to come.

Kaitlyn Tillman has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year to keep you posted about the success of the dream team. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940904575395452654498336.html

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Posted on October 17, 2011 by , Reply

Scott Tucker, A Year In Review: Infineon Challenge

By Kaitlyn Tillman

Scott Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports teammates recently began the final quarter of a racing year that has included numerous podium appearances, multiple car changes, incredible accomplishments and yet still room for improvement. Tucker, owner and driver for Level 5, has been a leader for the team despite the rookie status he maintained merely months ago. His tight, balanced driving has earned him top honors in the American Le Mans Series as Rookie of the Year and Champion Driver in 2010. His races often end with stints on the podium, and his career has only just begun.

As Tucker, his co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz and team manager David Stone prepare to close the calendar year with the all-important Petit Le Mans and the Ferrari International Finals, the stakes are high—the team has woven itself a reputation of excellence that is best understood by looking back at what has made 2011 a stunning year for Level 5 Motorsports.

Scott Tucker is undoubtedly a good race car driver, but when you add the fact that he competes not only in the ALMS and the ILMS but also the Ferrari Challenge series, Tucker becomes an unbelievable race car driver—unbelievable not only because of the schedule he keeps, but because of his continual success on the track. The first FC race of the 2011 year for Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports team was the debut of the Ferrari 458 Challenge—the 5th model to be used since the series began in the early 90s—at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

The 458 model was new to the race, but Tucker and the car were old friends. He tested the car exclusively in Spain the previous fall and again at the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend in the spring of 2011. The Ferrari 458 model is lighter and faster compared to its Italia 458 counterpart. The vehicle boasts 570 horsepower; 9,000 RPM direct injection V8 engine, and its gearbox is modified to increase torque at lower revolutions. The car is also equipped with a top-quality traction control system that was developed by Ferrari. The system is based on logic and strategies from Ferrari’s experience in the Formula One series.

Tucker entered the 2011 FC season with four wins on the Infineon course, which covers approximately 2.5 miles with 12 turns. Overall, the Level 5 team fared well in the weekend’s pair of FC races. “We came out with two cars, but because we were trying a new product with a new seat, it caused some issues with technical people here, so we pulled out one car,” said team manager David Stone. “The car we were able to run didn’t get the new gearbox update, so we’ve been tentative about that.”

But a race car is only as good as the sum of all its parts—and one of those parts is the driver. Tucker started the first race in fifth place. After some contact around the first corner, he bunkered down and worked his way up the rankings. His smart driving earned Level 5 a first-place ranking. “We extremely happy we got the win here with our 458 car,” said one engineer.

“I was trying to get up as fast as I could without making contact or being too aggressive,” said Tucker. “We had a good car, and fortunately it worked out for us in the end.”

The second of the FC pair wasn’t as seamless as its predecessor; Level 5 decided not to qualify because of a first-lap penalty the day before. “We have a double whammy where we started in the back and we had another penalty,” Stone said. “Scott will have his work cut out for him. Getting on the podium is a tall order on this track.”

In addition to the penalties and race placement, Tucker and the Level 5 team had to face the challenge of a shorter race—the clock ran approximately 10 minutes short in 2011 compared to previous years. “There will be a little less time to work toward the front, but it is what it is, and the goal will be to come out of here with as many points as we can,” Stone said.

Tucker delivered a stellar performance despite the hiccups, weaving through traffic efficiently with the front of the line his unwavering goal. Although the 458 car started last, Tucker brought it across the line sixth, no small feat considering the circumstances. “It was a good race; we started last and finished sixth with no damage to the car,” Tucker said. “It’s about as good as you can do.”

With a solid performance again in May at the first FC series race of the year, Tucker continued on his whirlwind race schedule with an ILMC stop in Belgium for the Spa.

Kaitlyn Tillman has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year to keep you posted about the success of the dream team. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.planetlemans.com/?s=scott+tucker

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Posted on October 15, 2011 by , Reply

Strategy Integral To Level 5 Motorsports’ Continued Success

By Kaitlyn Tillman

When private equity investor-turned motorsports rising star Scott Tucker placed his order for the new Honda Performance Development/Wirth Research cost-capped prototype car, under “quantity,” it said 2. Tucker reserved the first two chassis for his Level 5 Motorsports team to use as soon as possible, which turned out to be last weekend in the HPD ARX-01g’s debut appearance, at ModSpace American Le Mans in Monterey, Calif. The race was yet another victory for the David Stone-managed, Microsoft Office-sponsored team of Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz; the team has made a decisive sweep through the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series and the American Le Mans Series, making podium at numerous races and winning at several others, including Imola.

Of course, not just luck brought two veteran drivers together with a rookie and made them win races. Each of the drivers specializes in a different area and comes from a different background, but they all share a profound passion for racing sports cars and a depth of knowledge and experience that lends itself to precise, controlled, balanced driving at maximum speed. They key to the team’s collective success is finding the right equation for driver order and race strategy—part of which involves Tucker reserving two of the Honda chassis prototypes.

Tucker and Bouchut, who was his driving coach at the time, decided to enter the Le Mans Prototype class after looking at the car in 2010. The make of the car was intriguing enough, but given the fact that the series would have Class A and Class B drivers race together at the championship, Tucker wanted in. Bouchut, one of the most successful endurance drivers in the world and an industry veteran, had been helping Tucker improve since his Grand-Am debut, and the two entered the LMPC program together full-time in 2010.

Another attractive element of the new prototype class was that a new IMSA rule allowed gentleman drivers in LMPC or GTC class to drive two cars, with the scoring driver in the higher-placed entry. That allowance spawned Level 5 Motorsports’ winning Nos. 55 and 95 cars, which carried the team through the next year to win the LMP championship, which bumped Level 5 into the LMP2 class, for which the HPD ARX-01g cars will take over starting last weekend.

The strategy involved with two cars worked for Level 5 Motorsports, with an exceptionally seasoned veteran in Christophe Bouchut and another coming at the start of 2011 in Luis Diaz. Tucker, who was a rookie at age 44 in 2006, got practice through the two-car strategy Level 5 uses, saving himself time and energy and improving the team’s infrastructure all the while.

Tucker had mostly kept out of the limelight, though he rapidly built a winning record after his racing debut. But Le Mans had always been one of his goals, and so when the time was right enough, he added high-profile racing veterans to his inner circle and set about leaving the Level 5 mark on every ALMS and ILMC track he could.

Kaitlyn Tillman has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year to keep you posted about the success of the dream team. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940904575395452654498336.html

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Posted on October 13, 2011 by , Reply
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