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Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker Is One With His Fans

By Brent Arends

Level 5 Motorsports

Level 5 Motorsports – Competitive sports car racing isn’t quite the great spectator sport that, say, football is: Flying past a checkered flag at 200 miles per hour doesn’t leave much room for a victory dance. But motorsports fans are just as important to drivers as football fans are to wide receivers.

Level 5 Motorsports

 

Level 5 Motorsports owner and driver Scott Tucker starts and ends races with his fans. After drivers’ meetings at races, before he hits the track, he heads over to sign autographs for fans. “This is where it really starts,” he has said. “Having a big fan base coming to watch you gets everybody excited and pumped up.”

Level 5 Motorsports

The truth is, Tucker would still race even if not a single person came out to watch him—which makes him the best kind of professional athlete: a man who genuinely loves the sport. His complete disregard for any of the perks that could come with being as successful as he has been, with a unique story to boot, have a way of drawing people to the sport: What would make an investor from Leawood, Kansas enter the world of professional sports car racing as a 44-year-old rookie? Tucker’s story, an anomaly in an industry in which drivers have often been training for decades by the time they hit 44, has caught the attention of the Discovery Channel, which aired the feature film “Daytona Dream,” about Tucker and Level 5’s 2010 quest and ultimate accomplishment of a podium finish after 24 hours of grueling, continuous competition.

Fans especially in the United States have looked to Tucker also because his is the first Le Mans Prototype entry from the country in 25 years. What made him enter the ALMS? Not a sponsorship or a pay raise or anything other than the fact that he simply wanted to, a move that then begs the question, what’s so cool about Le Mans Prototype cars? The answer is, a lot—something Tucker has helped promote to a fan base that is inundated with Nascar, Grand-Am and Ferrari more so than LMP.

In fact, Tucker withdrew from a handful of important races in the 2011 season while he awaited the finishing touches on a brand new, cost-capped Honda vehicle for the team. For Level 5, which was on a breakaway winning season, the car had to be worth surrendering points and podium appearances. For Tucker, it absolutely was. He’d been monitoring updates on the car and decided it was the best model available in the LMP2 class.

“The fans are important to me because ultimately, we feel the same way about competitive sports car racing,” Tucker said. “Only, I get to be the one behind the wheel, and if I can share that with them, and they’re excited about it too, then that’s the best thing.”

Not that Tucker is a particularly difficult figure to rally behind. Not only is his story captivating and his passion for the sport undeniable—his record is pretty darn good. He won his second consecutive T1 division national championship at the SCCA runoffs at Road America, and in 2010, he served Ferrari as a test driver as it developed the next generation of supercar, the 599XX. In 2009, Tucker scored a single-season record of 10 victories in the Ferrari Challenge series and won the Ferrari Challenge Dealership Championship for Boardwalk Ferrari. He also won the Sports Car Club of America National Championship in a Ferrari 430.

After working his way through the Ferrari Challenge series and the Grand-Am series, Tucker, along with mentor and co-driver Bouchut, took an opportunity for Le Mans Prototype class competition and in 2010 won the LMP class championship, which bumped them up to the LMP2 class for 2011.

With drivers’ championships all but official this year for Tucker and Bouchut, the Level 5 Motorsports team continues to deliver action-packed, podium-worthy performances for its fans. Having stayed mostly out of the limelight, Tucker isn’t your typical sports hero, but that’s because he’s as much a fan of the sport as he is a driver in it.

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 25, 2011 by , Reply

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

Level 5 Won’t Face The Challenge Of Nighttime Racing Again Until 2012

By Brent Arends

Level 5 Motorsports, one of the world’s most prolific racing organizations, is in the midst of rounding out the 2011 racing schedule, with just three short—but very important—races left to tackle. The SCCA Runoffs, the ALMS Petit Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Zhuhai in China are sure to be high-profile, intense competition races. But one thing they’re not: an entire day long.

The mother of all endurance races is the 24-hour enduro. With two on the 2011 books for Level 5 Motorsports, owned by Scott Tucker, the team had to be prepared for a grueling day—and night—of racing. The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series offered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, in June, and the Grand-Am Rolex sets up the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, which was Level 5’s first race of the 2011 year, in January.

Having made podium at both super-endurance races, the Level 5 drivers (which also include Luis Diaz and Christophe Bouchut) have clearly mastered some of the unique challenges a day-long competition presents. One of the most obvious: driving in the dark. After focusing on a well-lit road all day, drivers are often challenged to keep a competitive pace when it gets dark, especially on tracks that aren’t well-lit. At the Daytona International Speedway, almost all of the track is lit by floodlights, so drivers adjust more easily. But in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the course occasionally goes through secluded highways in France.

“It takes a little while to get adjusted,” Tucker said. “But the track is still there; you just have to get used to it.” When making the transition from day to night, teams make sure to check that the headlights are working perfectly, and the rest is up to the driver. “You sort of become one with the road,” Tucker says. “It’s the same way a blind person’s other senses are heightened; your other senses eventually take over, and soon enough you’re matching the lap times from earlier in the day.”

Many of the newest Le Mans Prototype models regularly approach 200mph in race situations, which is amplified when driven at night. “There’s nothing like driving at night,” Tucker says.

Tucker and his Level 5 team secured an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans when they won their LMP class in 2010 at the ALMS Petit Le Mans. Taking the wheels of LMP2 cars for the 2011 season, the team will again look for their invite to 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012—hopefully, with an LMP1 class designation. This weekend, the team competes in the SCCA Runoffs, but the race they’ve really been focused on all season has been Petit Le Mans. They recently added a new car to their Microsoft Office-sponsored entries, a cost-capped Honda chassis with modified fuel injector and other specifications that ultimately allow the car to run with more power at a lighter weight.

So far, the car has proven unbeatable; it’s debut at Monterey was flawless, and the weeks leading up to Petit Le Mans are just additional opportunities for the drivers to acquaint themselves with the new set of wheels. With an LMP2 win at the top of their to-do list, the next time Level 5 Motorsports makes the transition from night to day could be in an LMP1 class at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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.planetlemans.com/?s=scott+tucker to the latest on sports car and GT racing.

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Posted on September 24, 2011 by , 1 comment

Level 5 Motorsports’ Impressive HPD ARX-01g Debut, Wirth Research Inks A Long-term Deal With Honda

By Brent Arends

There has been no shortage of publicity regarding the Scott Tucker-owned Level 5 Motorsports racing team’s mid-season decision to switch cars. Despite the risks the change brought of interrupting the explosive momentum the team has maintained since the season’s open, as well as the potential points lost by withdrawing from races while the car was being finished, the change has been nothing but positive. The marriage Level 5’s skillful and talented drivers; the integrity, innovation and reputation of Honda Performance Development; and the precision and technique of Wirth Research has benefited all three groups.

When the wait for Level 5’s new LMP2 Lola Honda Spyder was over, it was obvious the car was well worth it. Not that Level 5 had too much to worry about, with wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Grand Prix of Long Beach, along with podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Six Hours of Imola, all during the team’s debut LMP2 season. When the team ignited the engine on the raceway for the first time at ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patron, they bettered their season in the only way to better an already winning season: They made history. Tucker and co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz earned their highest overall finish of the season at the Laguna Seca race. The car didn’t require a single unscheduled pit stop or encounter any unexpected issues, which easily secured the team’s fourth LMP2 victory of the season and Tucker and Bouchut’s drivers’ championships.

Bouchut nailed a best time of 1: 16.867 in the new HPD ARX-01g, which is just a second behind the LMP1 winning car’s fastest lap. With this being the first iteration of the HPD ARX-01g, with development still in early stages for cost-capped configurations, the pace was impressive, especially considering the model had less than three hours of run time prior to the endurance test.

The lofty expectations for the new Honda before it was finished were valid enough that Tucker had reserved the first two chassis that were produced, and the team waited patiently for its new and improved car, even withdrawing from competitions in order to have it in time for Petit Le Mans. The hype surrounding the car, both before it was proven and following its tenacious debut, solidified the partnership between Wirth Research and Honda Performance Development (HPD), as Wirth announced Sept. 9 the beginning of a new long-term technical partnership with Honda.

Wirth and HPD have been working together since 2003, but the new relationship extends the companies’ sports prototype programs and includes a new IndyCar project. In an official Wirth press release, the company notes that the unyielding success of its LMP1 and LMP2 cars in the past year have opened the opportunity to build on the achievements and begin to evaluate several new projects for high-profile clients.

“We looked through the numbers, inside and out, and from our perspective, there’s no doubt the Honda package in the new cost-capped configuration will be a front-runner in LMP2,” Tucker said, after making the mid-season decision to switch cars. “We’ve seen gains with the engine all year, and the exciting thing is that there’s still room for improvement.” Members of the Level 5 team even visited the Wirth Research center to check out their new set of wheels in production.

It’s not just any car that can evoke so much anticipation out of an already dominant racing team. It can be expected that as long as there’s improvement in the prototypes, teams like Level 5—which constantly strategizes and evaluates situations to optimize the chance of a victory—will keep HPD and Wirth high on their radars. The new long-term partnership between the companies is the exciting beginning of an era of innovation and ultimate performance ability in motorsports.

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 September 24, 2011 by , 1 comment