Tucker, Level 5 Motorsports Open SCCA National Championship Runoffs with Record-Setting Performance

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- The 2010 season has been one for setting records on the track for Level 5 Motorsports' Scott Tucker. On Monday, he added another to his long list of accomplishments.

Tucker drove the No. 55 Level 5 Motorsports Ferrari 430 Challenge to a Touring 1 class record lap of 2:20.795 during the opening day of qualifying for the 47th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America. He is the event's Touring 1 class defending champion.

"Talk about a great way to get the week here at Road America started," said Tucker, who won his first national driving championship in 2009 at the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course. "We came here with one purpose -- to win a second straight Touring 1 class championship.

"The No. 55 Level 5 Motorsports Ferrari 430 Challenge performed beautifully during the first round of qualifying. That bodes well for us for the remainder of the week."

The field in this year's Touring 1 class will once again feature fast cars and experienced drivers. Qualifying behind Tucker in second place was John Buttermore, in a Dodge Viper, and in third was John Heinricy, an 11-time SCCA national champion and former GM High Performance Vehicles Director, in a Corvette C6.

Last September, Tucker made history at Road America by qualifying on the pole, setting the fastest race lap, leading all but two laps and, ultimately, winning the race.

Road America is a track with which Tucker is familiar. In addition to racing here a year ago, he and the Microsoft Office Level 5 Motorsports team finished third in the LMP Challenge class in the American Le Mans Series earlier this year.

"Obviously, this is a track where I have some fond memories," Tucker said. "And, we've got some experience racing here. We're continuing to learn about this track every time we come here, and we keep getting better and better."

Another 20-minute qualifying session for the T1 class is set for Wednesday at 10 a.m. The final 20-minute qualifying session is scheduled forThursday at 2 p.m.

The green flag is scheduled to wave on the 47th SCCA National Championship Runoffs on Sunday beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Tucker and the Microsoft Office Level 5 Motorsports team's quest for an ALMS LMP Challenge class championship will culminate next weekend at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Tucker comes into the season finale tied for the lead in the standings with Gunnar Jeannette.

From there, Tucker will conclude a hectic 2010 racing season with the International Finals for the Ferrari Challenge Series, which culminates in November at Spain's Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo.