Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life Racing's Scott Tucker captured a solid second in this afternoon's 2009 Ferrari Challenge Series race 11 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, a mere .421 seconds behind winner Ferrari of Houston's Mark McKenzie.
When the green flag waved at 3:15 p.m. EST. pole winner McKenzie was ready to take the lead going into turn one. But Ferrari of Silicon Valley's Zak Brown, who had qualified second, charged past the No. 27 F430 right from the start.
The battle had begun. Tucker, who began the race in fourth (01:25.121), used one of his signature starts, modulating both the brake and throttle, to stay with the lead group and get a jump on the rest of the 17-car field. He quickly powered the No. 55 past The Collection's Enzo Potolicchio--a newcomer to the Series--to slide into third.
As the field entered turn three, Tucker set his sights on McKenzie, now in second, ready for a challenge.
Over the next laps, Brown's No. 99 F430 began to fade, allowing McKenzie to make up for his lost starting position. On lap five, McKenzie flew past Brown to regain first in turn six.
Tucker continued full force in his No. 3 spot. Looking to bury Brown, Tucker's skills behind the wheel dominated the No. 99 with 12 minutes remaining on the clock. The Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life driver moved into second in turn one, leaving Brown behind in his rearview.
The action was intense. It was a classic duel between Tucker and McKenzie as the two lapped the back markers twice in the race's remaining laps. The No. 55's tires were slightly worn from the morning's qualifying attempt; nevertheless Tucker maintained faster lap times than McKenzie. But McKenzie defended his lead and took the checkered flag in the end (01:26.134). Tucker followed quickly behind, posting a time of 01:26.555. Brown remained in third (01:26.394), with Ferrari of Silicon Valley's Henri Richard (01:27.032) and Ferrari of Newport Beach's Steve Hill (01:27.378) finishing in fourth and fifth positions.
"With any race, you hope to finish in the best position possible," Tucker said. "Today, we wanted first, however, we still finished strong. Championships are all about being prepared. As we close in on tomorrow's race, this team and myself will do everything we can in order to accomplish that."
With their focus on Sunday's race 12, Tucker and his Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life team still have their sights set on the championship. McKenzie continues to hold the lead in the standings with 1805 points, Tucker now sits, just 55 points behind at 1750. Tomorrow's action begins with qualifying at 9:30 a.m., followed by the race at 11:45 a.m. EST.
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