HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- With driver Scott Tucker pulling rare double duty, Supercar Life Racing closed out the 2009 Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series with an impressive two-car effort. The pair of BMW Riley Daytona Prototypes finished sixth and 11th respectively.
Tucker, who has campaigned the season with Christophe Bouchut in the No. 55 BMW Riley, joined IndyCar series competitor Ryan Hunter-Reay in the team's second entry. After setting the fastest times in qualifying sessions Thursday and Friday, the team earned fifth and 13th starting positions for Saturday's Grand Prix of Miami.
The teams mounted very strong efforts -- at one point running first and second -- with Tucker taking turns behind the wheel of each car. The No. 55, with Bouchut, came home sixth after leading 12 laps, while the No. 95 with Reay finished an impressive 11th in that car's first on-track appearance.
"What a great way to finish the Rolex season," Tucker said. "Christophe has shown all season what a talent he is and he proved it again here. It was great to watch what Ryan could do in the car."
The pair of Bouchut and Tucker have not finished outside the top 10 in any Rolex Sports Car Series event this year as the team was the model of consistency. Their on-track performance and off-track professionalism is what attracted Hunter-Reay to the Supercar Life effort.
"I saw the opportunity to team up with Scott and Christophe as a very unique challenge," Hunter-Reay said. "The opportunity was offered to do something that nobody has done at that track -- racing both the oval and the road course on the same day."
Racing in 95-degree-plus heat, Tucker, in the No. 55 BMW Riley, jumped four spots in the first 10 laps and consistently posted lap times as faster or faster than the leaders. At one point, he passed former Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice after shadowing him for approximately five laps.
Tucker posted his fastest lap time of the race, 1:13.885, which at the time was the fourth fastest lap in the field. The team was poised for its first victory of the season, but an ill-timed caution flag, along with a challenging call in the pits, kept Supercar Life Racing out of Victory Lane.
Joao Barbosa and Hurley Haywood won Saturday's Grand Prix of Miami in their Brumos Porshe. The race ended under caution following a multi-car spin on a restart with six minutes remaining, when Jared Beyer was turned around in front of a pack of cars -- eliminating Beyer while damaging many of the GT contenders. That gave the Acxiom GT victory to Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards in the No. 07 Team Drinkin' Mate Pontiac GXP.R, while Leh Keen and Dirk Werner captured the championship with a third-place finish.
Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney finished fourth to capture their second Daytona Prototype championship.
Tucker came to Miami after recently winning the Sports Car Club of America's National Championship Runoffs, earning him his first national championship as a driver. Tucker piloted his Supercar Life F430 Challenge Ferrari to an impressive win less than two weeks ago.
Next up for the journeyman driver, Tucker looks to take his winning ways to Valencia, Spain, in November in an attempt to solidify the championship in the Ferrari Challenge Series, where he currently has a 75-point lead the series point standings.
Congratulations to the Supercar Life team for a job well done at Homestead-Miami Speedway!
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