Level 5 Motorsports was an American

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

team founded in 2006 by racing driver, technology entrepreneur and convicted racketeer Scott Tucker, currently serving a sentence of 16 years and 8 months in federal prison. Level 5 Motorsports competed in the

United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

and Ferrari Challenge, having won multiple

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

championships and endurance races including the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

, 12 Hours of Sebring and

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...

. Level 5 Motorsports began with Tucker competing in the

Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

and Ferrari Challenge Series. In 2007, while continuing with SCCA and Ferrari Challenge, Tucker entered several events in the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

and

Koni Challenge Series The Michelin Pilot Challenge is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. Originating from the Canadian Motorola Cup, the series was taken over by Grand-Am in 2001 to become the Grand-Am Cup ...

with co-driver Ed Zabinski. Tucker also competed in the

IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama was a one-make racing series based in the United States using Porsche 911 GT3s. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama entered its 16th & final season in 2020 and was the largest of Porsche' ...

Grand-Am

In 2008, the team made four starts in the Rolex Series including the

Rolex 24 At Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...

. In 2009, Level 5 Motorsports became a regular in the

. The team finished 9th in class at the

driving a BMW Powered

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specifically ...

Christophe Bouchut Christophe Bouchut (born 24 September 1966 in Voiron, Isère) is a French professional racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving for Dexwet-df1 Racing and Alex Caffi Motorsport in a part-time effort. He won ...

finished 23rd and

Scott Tucker (racing driver) Scott Tucker (born May 5, 1962 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American convicted racketeer, loan shark, former businessman and amateur racing driver. In 2001, Tucker founded an online business, AMG Services, that made payday loans even in st ...

finished 31st in the Drivers Championship. Tucker also had a record-setting season in the

Ferrari Challenge The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. The series was proposed by Ferrari Club Nederland founder and President Hans ...

, winning 10 races. That year, Tucker also earned his first national title, winning the SCCA Touring 1 Class National Championship. In 2010, Level 5 Motorsports entered the

Rolex 24 at Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...

. The team of Scott Tucker,

Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...

Lucas Luhr Lucas Luhr (born 22 July 1979) is a German BMW factory racing driver, currently competing for BMW and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the GTLM category of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. Early career Born in Mülheim-Kärlich, Luhr ...

and

Richard Westbrook Richard Westbrook (born 10 July 1975) is a British professional racing driver noted for his success in racing Porsche and International sports cars. As a junior, he attended St Joseph's College, Ipswich. He has won both the Porsche Supercup i ...

took a third-place overall finish. Scott Tucker and

entered one more Rolex Series race, finishing 11th overall in Miami. In 2011, the team started the year at the

where they competed with two BMW powered Riley Daytona Prototype. The #55 car finished 8th and the #95 car finished 11th.

American Le Mans Series

Level 5 Motorsports also competed in the full 2010 season of the

. Starting with a class win at the 12 hours of Sebring, Level 5 Motorsports won 5 of 9 races. The team won the LMPC Championship and team owner, Scott Tucker, won the Drivers Championship. For 2011, Level 5 Motorsports only competed in select rounds of the

season. The team used an HPD powered

Lola B08/80 The Lola B08/80 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Lola Cars International. It is effectively the LMP2 version of the larger Lola B08/60; they are the first closed-cockpit sports prototypes built by Lola since the T92/10 of 1992. The B08/80 is o ...

and a

Lola B11/40 The Lola B11/40 is an open-top Le Mans Prototype (LMP) built by Lola Cars International. It is the first car to be designed to the new Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) LMP2 "low cost formula" where cars will be powered exclusively by production ...

to gain victories at the Sebring,

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

. The team used two

HPD ARX-01 The Acura ARX-01, later known as the HPD ARX-01 is a series of Le Mans Prototype built for sports car racing, specifically in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the first purpose-built race car by ...

gs to gain victories in the final two races of the season at

and

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho ...

. Having won every race they entered, Level 5 Motorsports won the LMP2 team championship and drivers Scott Tucker and

won the LMP2 Drivers Championship. The 2012 season saw Level 5 Motorsports campaign two brand new HPD ARX-03b's for the full season. The #055 car, driven by Scott Tucker,

João Barbosa João Barbosa (born 11 March 1975 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP3 class. Before the 2021 Six Hours of the Glen, ...

, took first in class at the

Mobil 1 Mobil 1 is a brand of synthetic motor oil and other automotive lubrication products. Originally developed by the Mobil oil company, it is now globally marketed and sold by ExxonMobil. Mobil 1 engine oil was introduced in 1974. The brand range no ...

12 Hours of Sebring. The team went on to win 7 of the next 9 races, losing only at

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

and

to their main rivals, Conquest Endurance. The Level 5 Motorsports crew was able to secure the LMP2 Team Championship. Scott Tucker and

also claimed the LMP2 Drivers championship. American Le Mans Series LMP2 No

In 2013, Level 5 Motorsports earned nine class wins out of 10 races with its two HPD ARX-03b's. The team was able to secure its fourth consecutive

team championship and third straight in the P2 class. Scott Tucker won his fourth

drivers' 'title.

United SportsCar Championship

Level 5 Motorsports won the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT Daytona class with its No. 555 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Scott Tucker,

Townsend Bell Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage. Early career He spent ...

, Bill Sweedler,

Jeff Segal Jeffrey Segal (born 27 April 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American racing driver who competes in the United SportsCar Championship for Michael Shank Racing. He is a two-time Rolex Sports Car Series GT class champion and winner of the ...

and Alessandro Pier Guidi, despite the car having initially been handed a penalty for late-race avoidable contact. IMSA reversed the call more than four hours after the race, declaring the No. 555 car the winners in GTD. The win marked Ferrari's 10th in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the first since the Italian manufacturer's overall victory in 1998 with a Ferrari 333SP fielded by Doran-Moretti Racing. On February 26, Level 5 announced that it will withdraw from the series.

24 Hours of Le Mans

In 2011, the Level 5 Motorsports team also competed in 5 of the 7 rounds of the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

including the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. The team qualified their #33 Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored Lola 11th in class. Drivers Scott Tucker,

and

completed 319 laps, finishing 3rd in LMP2 in their first attempt at the famed race. The team also competed in 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team qualified the #33 car 14th in class. Scott Tucker,

and Luis Díaz completed 240 laps but did not finish the race. This was the team's second appearance at Le Mans. In 2013, the #33 Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b of Scott Tucker,

Ryan Briscoe Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America. In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...

and

Marino Franchitti Marino Alessandro Cesare Franchitti (born 7 July 1978) is a British racing driver, and the younger brother of Dario Franchitti. He has spent the majority of his career racing in sports cars and grand tourers, with a career highlight of winning t ...

completed 242 laps after battling engine-related issues. The car was not classified in the final results due to not reaching the minimum 70 percent distance requirement.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Level 5 Motorsports
American Le Mans Series teams American auto racing teams WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Auto racing teams established in 2006