Coming into the Ferrari Challenge Series' third doubleheader weekend, Tucker and his Boardwalk Ferrari team delivered two impressive performances despite adverse conditions at Sonoma, California's 2.47-mile Infineon Raceway. Tucker overcame dead-last starts in both races five and six, finishing second on Saturday (02:02.245) and third on Sunday (01:47.848)--a podium sweep for the weekend.
"Unpredictable," Tucker said. "That's how I would sum up this weekend at Infineon. This was one of the most action-packed weekends we have seen so far this season. There's no doubt about it, Infineon is one of the most technical tracks in America and the weather conditions had a major effect on the track, drivers and cars."
The adverse effect of the weather was evident on Saturday; the rain didn't stop until 45 minutes before the green flag dropped in race five. Tucker took second position on the grid outside pole winner Mark McKenzie's No. 27 car on the front row.
Leading the field in position one before the race's start, McKenzie forced Tucker onto the dry line as he exited turn one on the outlap, causing the No. 55 Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life F430 to spin as he went up the hill. As the field continued to pull away, a quick call to Grand-Am officials confirmed that Tucker would be allowed to rejoin the field in position two, but he would have to advance there on his own. Tucker worked his way back up to the front, regaining his position just before the pace car left the field.
As the race went green, the No. 55 F430 led McKenzie's No. 27 by half a car length as the two entered turn one. It was in turn two that Tucker spun a perfect 180 degrees, breaking his lead position and taking him to the back of field. Just 30 feet later, McKenzie spun off track, careening backwards down the hill and landing in a deep hole. McKenzie, after two full minutes of desperate maneuvers in the wet grass on the steep incline, reentered still on the lead lap--just 100 feet in front of the safety car that had collected the field during the incident.
Zak Brown, who had qualified in fifth position, had taken over the lead with Ferrari of Silicon Valley's Henri Richard and The Collection's Mike Zoi in second and third behind him.
Tucker wasted no time moving aggressively up the field, making his way to fourth position by lap 13 with McKenzie pursuing behind. Richard then took the lead from Brown on lap 14.
One lap later, Tucker passed Richard on the inside and was on his way to controlling the rest of the race when McKenzie, who had picked up third position with his sights set on Richard, took over second. Tucker maintained a defensive line on McKenzie during lap 17.
With just four laps to go, Tucker's rain tires had suffered from the combination of a drying track and their driver's hard charge through the field. There was virtually nothing left. McKenzie took advantage of the inevitable break in momentum, passing the race leader in turn 11. Though Tucker had wisely dialed back a bit to conserve his lead in the Series standings, he still crossed the finish line just 1.861 seconds behind McKenzie (02:01.819). Richard Fant, clocking in at 02:01.146, filled the remaining podium position.
Drivers Brown (02:03.811) and Richard (02:03.806) rounded out the Top Five for race five.
Sunday's action began with Tucker setting the fastest lap time and capturing pole position in qualifying. When a minor technical infraction penalized the No. 55, moving it to the back of the starting grid, Brown (02:03.691) took Tucker's place in first position with The Collection's Francesco Piovanetti following in second (02:04.382).
As the 45-minute race six went green, Brown had the lead going into turn one in a start similar to Saturday's race five. Tucker, who had started in the seventh row, advanced quickly, moving past Bruce Gingrich and Al Hegyi in the No. 12 and No. 11 positions within the first lap.
Ferrari of Houston's McKenzie, who won Saturday's race five, had qualified in seventh. He and the No. 27 car soon found their way back into the Top Five, passing Zoi and Fant in the No. 5 and No. 6 positions in the second lap. McKenzie then locked in on his next two victims, Steve Hill and Richard in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, to maneuver his way into third.
Brown fell back and lost his lead position on lap four, when McKenzie's No. 27 F430 mastered an inside pass and took over the 13-car field. Tucker meanwhile had been picking off cars one by one. As Brown continued to lose positions and fell back to third, Tucker passed Ted Skokos, who was in seventh in the No. 2 car.
Fant, who had qualified fifth, used a consistent pace to work his way into fourth position just behind Brown. Brown then watched as Fant's No. 42 car passed him; at the same time he could see Tucker coming on strong in his rear view. McKenzie meanwhile controlled his lead, driving a defensive line during lap 19. Going into lap 20, however, McKenzie's persistence ran out; Fant's No. 42 car was too quick for the No. 27 from Texas, and Fant took over the lead.
The rest of the field ran wire-to-wire for the last few laps, without much more change in position, until close to the end. That's when Tucker made his move on Brown. Passing the No. 99 car, Tucker took over third position as the checkered flag flew high.
Drivers Fant (01:47.812), McKenzie (01:47.497) and Tucker (01:47.848) captured the first, second and third place positions. Brown (01:49.111) and Hill (01:50.140) rounded out the Top Five.
After the weekend's dramatic events, Tucker still sits at the top of the Series standings. With 1130 points, he is 150 points ahead of McKenzie, who is in second (980 points).
"We did exactly what we needed to do this weekend," driver coach Ed Zabinski said. "Continue to stay ahead in the points standings. After a mishap in race five and starting from the back in race six, I'd say we finished the weekend successfully. Going into the next round, Scott will continue to be a leading contender for this season's championship title; I have no doubt about that."
"We claimed as many points as we could this weekend," Tucker said. "I can't thank the Boardwalk Ferrari team enough for all their efforts. Without them I certainly couldn't have made it to the podium in both races this weekend."
Tucker heads next to the Grand-Am Rolex Series in the No. 55 Daytona Prototype at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca May 17. The weekend's Verizon Festival of SPEED will air on SPEED TV at 4:00 p.m. EST. Races seven and eight of the Ferrari Challenge Series follows at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI., June 26 through 28.
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