Scott Tucker was going to race Level 5 Motorsports’ new HPD ARX-01g car when he could. That determination was evident when he and the team chose to delay until the very last possible minute to make a final scale on the 6 hours of Silverstone race: It was all or nothing. Unfortunately, cost-capped wheels for the car weren’t accessible in time for Level 5 to maintain its entry in Silverstone; Tucker withdrew. “I knew there was a risk in waiting for the parts, with them not being guaranteed,” Tucker says. “But the car is undoubtedly the best vehicle performance-wise that we can get, so I was determined to give it a shot. The HPD engine and chassis amalgamation has proved to be the best over the years.We feel very comfortable and confident in making this unprecedented and decisive go.” Determination, risk, and refusing to settle for anything but the best-sounds akin to racing.

Calculated decisions and ultimate control are part of what makes drivers successful, and Level 5 has had its honest proportion of success. The team makes podium finishes in some of the largest races of the past year, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 6 hours of Imola.

Recently, the crew competed in the four-mile Road America circuit for the sixth round of the ALMS season and won its class, which continued Level 5′s undefeated record in American Le Mans Run competition this season. In that one weekend, Tucker, the reigning ALMS LMPC champion, tackled six races in four different run. He earned podium finishes in the IMSA Prototype Lites, IMSA GT3 Challenge by Yokohama and SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am races, and then he won the Trans-Am T2 class, his 55th career victory in international competition. Co-driver Luis Diaz earned his 10th career ALMS victory. “As far as I know, the championship is now locked up,” team manager David Stone said.

Even so, as Tucker and co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz hit the street with the new HPD ARX-01g at the LMS enduro today, they’ll have plenty of catching up to do after taking Silverstone off. “As a team, you never want to miss a race, a practice or a chance to prepare,” Tucker says. “But we’re really looking to perform well and get acquainted with the HPD ARX-01g at Mazda Laguna Seca so we can look ahead to Petit.”

While considering options for the Silverstone race, Level 5 was given the option to compete with the HPD ARX-01g using grandfathered-in specifications, but the team ultimately chose that racing with modified specifications on the car would defeat its purpose. In order to prepare the car for the six-hour LMS enduro today, additional mechanics flew to the Wirth workshop in England last week. When it was finished, the car got a one-way ticket to San Francisco.

Preliminary tests with all the HPD ARX-01g were promising, with all three drivers optimistic about the weekend’s race. Especially vital was calibrating the drivers’ balances with the new vehicle. Tucker, who started his driving career in 2006, has been well-known for his unwavering balance since he started. At his initially appearance in Le Mans, the Super Bowl of motorsports, he cranked more than 200mph-in the dark- with an Audi R10, the initially American to be behind an Audi turbodiesel’s wheel in competition. His choice to skip Silverstone hearkens the same cool confidence. With a winning year already clinched, committing to the Six Hours of Silverstone in the ancient car just wasn’t as valuable as the possibility that Level 5 might be able to drive its HPD ARX-01g. Just as in races, Tucker set his sights on a goal and let the situation unfold. Although the Silverstone absence meant lost time and points, Tucker and his team are just getting ready for a winning end to an already dazzling year.

To make up for lost some time and points, Level 5 plans to contest the last two ILMC rounds in Atlanta and China.

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