Scott Tucker and his Boardwalk Ferrari team have their eyes on the prize once
again, as they head to round three of the Ferrari Challenge
Series season this weekend. Races five and six in the Series take place May 1
through 3 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
Tucker has so far dominated the 2009 season, sweeping both races at the Series
season-opener at Homestead-Miami and also capturing the checkered flag in
races three and four at the Road Atlanta track, April 18 through 19. Driving
the No. 55 Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life F430, Tucker took full control of
Atlanta's 2.54-mile circuit both days, posting a fastest lap time of
01:28.012: a new track record for the fastest race lap and leading every lap of
race four.
"I'm extremely proud of this team and organization," Tucker said. "We just take it one week at a time. It's a question mark every time you arrive at another track; you're not exactly sure what you're going to have until practice starts-even if you've run the track before. There are so many variables. Once you get that first run of the day, you have an idea of where you will be and how the car is running. Fortunately, for us, we are hot off another strong weekend of racing with our No. 55 Daytona Prototype in the Grand-Am Rolex
Sports Car Series; I hope the team continues to make our mark in both Series as the season progresses."
Just last weekend the team and their No.
55 DP finished in the Top Five of last weekend's Bosch Engineering 250. It was
an intense and unpredictable race, but the team emerged with the hard charger
award for advancing the most positions -12-than any other car in the race.
The westward trek to California historically has been even more successful for
Tucker and Boardwalk Ferrari's No. 55 machine. In the 2008 Ferrari Challenge
Series, Tucker handily out-distanced the competition at Infineon's famed
2.47-mile road course. Tucker drove an all-around great performance not once, but twice
last year, taking the checkered flag in both Sonoma races. In fact, Tucker led
all 26 laps of that weekend's second race and established a track record for
the fastest race lap with a time of 01:46.140.
Tucker is looking to repeat-and perhaps improve upon-that history this
weekend. Many of the top professional race car drivers in the country rank
Infineon Raceway No. 1 on their list of favorite tracks. Set among the
beautiful hills of Northern California, the twisting 12-turn circuit is a true
test for the drivers who run its course.
"Infineon Raceway is one of the toughest tracks in the country," Tucker said.
"Aside from it being very technical, there are not many places on the track
that allow you to just sit back and drive full throttle. That's why physical
condition plays a big part in driving this course; drivers must be in the best
physical shape possible to maintain the needed intensity and attention."
While Tucker has been conditioning himself for the challenging course, Team
Manager David Stone has been prepping the crew and the No. 55 car to ensure
that everyone is fully equipped for the race weekend at Infineon.
"Infineon is a lot different than the track at VIR, where we raced last
weekend, or Road Atlanta, for that matter," said Team Manager David Stone.
"There are no straightaways, just corner after corner. The track calls for a
lot of forward bite and can get very hot and slick."
Tucker and his No. 55 car will look to take their first lead over the field
during Saturday's qualifying session, followed by race one at 2:10 p.m. PST.
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