The plot of Scott Tucker's career is just what some would most likely call a Cinderella story, an American classic: A profitable private equity investor from a Kansas city makes its way into his very first professional motorsports race at the age of Forty-four, and 5yrs later, he's consistently on the podium just after races in many series-Grand-Am, Ferrari, American Le Mans Series and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Earlier this year, Tucker made podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his debut season in the LMP2 class.
Needless to say, not just any body could do the amount of late-bloomer success Tucker has achieved. His skill, resistence, process and range of information would not exist if not for an enormous adoration for the game. Scott Tucker loves cars-before he had the chance to race, he built a sort-of car museum within the Leawood, Kansas family home. So it's appropriate that Tucker, the improbable American Le Mans leading man, would be the 1st American to go into his team in the Le Mans Prototype class in nearly Twenty five years.
"Breaking into the Le Mans series has always been on my mind," Scott Tucker reported. "I could wait another 10 years for the time to be right, but we got an opportunity and decided to go for it."
The Le Mans Prototype, or LMP, are the best closed-wheel racing cars on present-day circuit racing tracks. Their expense and engineering are like that of Formula 1 automobiles, but LMP vehicles top out at even bigger speeds than Formula 1 vehicles. No wonder that Tucker couldn't wait to get in one. After he barreled through the LMP series, Tucker moved into the LMP2 class. Mid-season, a Honda Performance Development/Wirth Research partnership was finishing work on a cost-capped prototype that would permit accelerated speeds as compared to other LMP2 engines. It wasn't any wonder when Tucker reserved the initial two out of development.
The Le Mans Prototype was implemented for the first time in the '92 24 Hours of Le Mans, when a small field of competition caused the race to be open to small, open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines to try and expand the field. After that season, the World Sportscar Championship and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship organizations dissolved, which left highly-priced Group C prototypes with little competition beyond Le Mans races, which were quite few. As Group C became outmoded, the Le Mans Prototype class was developed. In 1999, the American Le Mans Series was developed, enabling a significantly larger competitor base because more Le Mans races would be held each year.
Right now, a person can race in an LMP, LMP2 or LMP1 class, in two of which Tucker has made his mark. In 2010, during his debut season in the Le Mans series, Tucker took the LMP championship and won rookie of the year. In the years ahead in to LMP2 for the 2011 season, Tucker begun accumulating podium finishes at breakneck speed, with outstanding finishes at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Infineon and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Tucker along with his Level 5 Motorsports team might be just what the United States needs to bring larger appreciation of racing. With NASCAR largely dominating motorsports interest and not even a sole Le Mans Prototype entry coming from the nation in a quarter century, there's been a lack of depth in auto racing coverage. Tucker's entertaining story, his own evident enthusiasm for the sport and his undeniable success are a verifiable formula for a figure whom the population could get behind.
Needless to say, not just any body could do the amount of late-bloomer success Tucker has achieved. His skill, resistence, process and range of information would not exist if not for an enormous adoration for the game. Scott Tucker loves cars-before he had the chance to race, he built a sort-of car museum within the Leawood, Kansas family home. So it's appropriate that Tucker, the improbable American Le Mans leading man, would be the 1st American to go into his team in the Le Mans Prototype class in nearly Twenty five years.
"Breaking into the Le Mans series has always been on my mind," Scott Tucker reported. "I could wait another 10 years for the time to be right, but we got an opportunity and decided to go for it."
The Le Mans Prototype, or LMP, are the best closed-wheel racing cars on present-day circuit racing tracks. Their expense and engineering are like that of Formula 1 automobiles, but LMP vehicles top out at even bigger speeds than Formula 1 vehicles. No wonder that Tucker couldn't wait to get in one. After he barreled through the LMP series, Tucker moved into the LMP2 class. Mid-season, a Honda Performance Development/Wirth Research partnership was finishing work on a cost-capped prototype that would permit accelerated speeds as compared to other LMP2 engines. It wasn't any wonder when Tucker reserved the initial two out of development.
The Le Mans Prototype was implemented for the first time in the '92 24 Hours of Le Mans, when a small field of competition caused the race to be open to small, open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines to try and expand the field. After that season, the World Sportscar Championship and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship organizations dissolved, which left highly-priced Group C prototypes with little competition beyond Le Mans races, which were quite few. As Group C became outmoded, the Le Mans Prototype class was developed. In 1999, the American Le Mans Series was developed, enabling a significantly larger competitor base because more Le Mans races would be held each year.
Right now, a person can race in an LMP, LMP2 or LMP1 class, in two of which Tucker has made his mark. In 2010, during his debut season in the Le Mans series, Tucker took the LMP championship and won rookie of the year. In the years ahead in to LMP2 for the 2011 season, Tucker begun accumulating podium finishes at breakneck speed, with outstanding finishes at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Infineon and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Tucker along with his Level 5 Motorsports team might be just what the United States needs to bring larger appreciation of racing. With NASCAR largely dominating motorsports interest and not even a sole Le Mans Prototype entry coming from the nation in a quarter century, there's been a lack of depth in auto racing coverage. Tucker's entertaining story, his own evident enthusiasm for the sport and his undeniable success are a verifiable formula for a figure whom the population could get behind.
