Scott Tucker and his No. 77 Boardwalk Ferrari 360 Challenge car took the Sports Car Club of America's Northwest Region by storm this past holiday weekend at Pacific Raceway in Kent, Wash., leading every lap in both races, setting a new track record and sweeping the 29th Annual J. Tom Masterson Memorial Double National with back-to-back victories.
"This was a fantastic weekend," Tucker said. "I couldn't have asked for better results. As always, the team did a perfect job setting up the car; their dedication and technical know-how is truly very special, and I wouldn't be where I am today without them."
Posting the fastest qualifying time in the T1 class, Tucker started Sunday's race one from the front row and went on to dominate Pacific Raceway's 10-turn, 2.25-mile, NASCAR-certified course. Winding through natural wooded terrain, the Raceway's sweeping curves, 170 mile-per-hour front straight and hairpin turns make it one of the most unique and challenging courses in the United States.
Tucker received an early birthday present late Sunday when officials confirmed that he had set a new track record during the race. On Monday, Tucker once again took his place on the front row after posting the fastest lap during qualifying for race two. With a quick jump on the field at the start, Tucker ran another uncontested race, taking the checkered flag in the weekend's finale.
"I have never raced at this track before," Tucker said. "To put us in position to set a new lap record after just our third session on track says a lot. I can't thank Steve Smith, Matthew Kopecky and the rest of the guys for working this hard over a holiday weekend. We are all working very hard to get us in a good position to win two back-to-back National Championships in Ferraris."
Now undefeated in four consecutive SCCA National races in 2009, Tucker qualifies to campaign his Ferrari 360 Challenge in the T1 class at the National Championship Runoffs at Wisconsin's Road America in September.
Tucker and his 2008 SCCA teammate, Ed Zabinski made national headlines when they capped off last year's racing season by piloting identical Ferraris to two podium finishes and a National Championship in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. Pitting the fabled mark against Chevrolet Corvettes and Dodge Vipers, Zabinski became the first driver ever to win an SCCA National Championship in any class while driving a Ferrari; Tucker followed close behind in third position on the podium. The team received worldwide coverage from the historic win, with their photo appearing larger than life in Times Square. Online publications and international business journals also featured Zabinski and Tucker: Aeronoticias (Peru), Heilbronner Stimme (Germany), just-auto.com (United Kingdom), Le Groupe Autojournal (Canada), melodika.net (Bulgaria) and UBS Securities (Japan). Industry icons such as Forbes, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, SPEED, Time Warner Inc., and print publications fpinews (Italy), FORZA (USA), Sporting News (USA), Road & Track (USA) also shared their interest in the team.
No comments:
Post a Comment