After winning his class in Petit Le Mans for the second year in a row, Scott Tucker continues to build his career as one of the top elite motorsports drivers in the world. Not only is he a driver, though, but he founded and owns his Level 5 Motorsports team. Really, the success he's earned as a driver should come as more of a surprise than his success as a team owner.
Tucker has experience in management, after he spent the better part of his life as CEO of Westfund, a private equity investment firm in his hometown of Leawood, Kansas. His success as an investor allowed him the opportunity to delve into his hobby, motorsports. At age 44, Tucker took the wheel of a sports car in his first professional motorsports race with no previous experience. He spent two years refining his driving skills, and since 2008 he has also been calling the shots in his own elite motorsports team.
Being owner and driver means Tucker makes decisions on and off of the race track. While in the middle of a race, Tucker must maintain focus and control of cars at triple-digit speeds, making passes when opportunities arise and otherwise avoiding catastrophic collisions. Off the field, Tucker organizes and hires drivers, makes decisions on what car the team will drive and otherwise manages the entire Level 5 team with the help of Manager David Stone.
This year, Tucker made two major decisions that were integral to Level 5's 2011 success. First, in the middle of the year, Tucker announced that Level 5 would swap its LMP2 cars for two brand new models, effective as soon as possible. The decision had some in the motorsports industry puzzled; why mess with a winning formula? The team had indeed already experienced significant success, but Tucker's eyes were on the future. Tucker had been keeping tabs on a collaboration between Honda Performance Development and Wirth Research, who were building a cost-capped LMP2 prototype with a modified fuel injector that would allow for greater speed increases at a lighter weight. After he was convinced the car would be the best performer in the field, Tucker reserved the first two out of production and planned to debut them, by the latest, at Petit Le Mans. This decision as owner of Level 5 Motorsports directly affected Tucker as driver of Level 5 Motorsports, as he began to make other changes to accommodate the new cars.
The second important factor in the season was Tucker's hiring of Marino Franchitti, a LMP2 class veteran who had in fact driven nearly every iteration of the HPD ARX-01 line, starting with the HPD ARX-01a. Tucker's driver roster of Christophe Bouchut, Luis Diaz and Joao Barbosa was already experienced in endurance and Le Mans Prototype competition, but Franchitti's experience in the particular HPD ARX-01 prototypes added a little extra to an already loaded roster.
This way, Tucker ensured by adding Franchitti that when he was driving the HPD ARX-01g, he was driving to win. Tucker's focus on top performance and making podium in every race applies equally to his role as owner of Level 5 as it does his role as driver. With the two so closely connected, Tucker's team will undoubtedly continue to take risks and push the envelope in order to create the greatest opportunity for success
Tucker has experience in management, after he spent the better part of his life as CEO of Westfund, a private equity investment firm in his hometown of Leawood, Kansas. His success as an investor allowed him the opportunity to delve into his hobby, motorsports. At age 44, Tucker took the wheel of a sports car in his first professional motorsports race with no previous experience. He spent two years refining his driving skills, and since 2008 he has also been calling the shots in his own elite motorsports team.
Being owner and driver means Tucker makes decisions on and off of the race track. While in the middle of a race, Tucker must maintain focus and control of cars at triple-digit speeds, making passes when opportunities arise and otherwise avoiding catastrophic collisions. Off the field, Tucker organizes and hires drivers, makes decisions on what car the team will drive and otherwise manages the entire Level 5 team with the help of Manager David Stone.
This year, Tucker made two major decisions that were integral to Level 5's 2011 success. First, in the middle of the year, Tucker announced that Level 5 would swap its LMP2 cars for two brand new models, effective as soon as possible. The decision had some in the motorsports industry puzzled; why mess with a winning formula? The team had indeed already experienced significant success, but Tucker's eyes were on the future. Tucker had been keeping tabs on a collaboration between Honda Performance Development and Wirth Research, who were building a cost-capped LMP2 prototype with a modified fuel injector that would allow for greater speed increases at a lighter weight. After he was convinced the car would be the best performer in the field, Tucker reserved the first two out of production and planned to debut them, by the latest, at Petit Le Mans. This decision as owner of Level 5 Motorsports directly affected Tucker as driver of Level 5 Motorsports, as he began to make other changes to accommodate the new cars.
The second important factor in the season was Tucker's hiring of Marino Franchitti, a LMP2 class veteran who had in fact driven nearly every iteration of the HPD ARX-01 line, starting with the HPD ARX-01a. Tucker's driver roster of Christophe Bouchut, Luis Diaz and Joao Barbosa was already experienced in endurance and Le Mans Prototype competition, but Franchitti's experience in the particular HPD ARX-01 prototypes added a little extra to an already loaded roster.
This way, Tucker ensured by adding Franchitti that when he was driving the HPD ARX-01g, he was driving to win. Tucker's focus on top performance and making podium in every race applies equally to his role as owner of Level 5 as it does his role as driver. With the two so closely connected, Tucker's team will undoubtedly continue to take risks and push the envelope in order to create the greatest opportunity for success
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