Put a fork in Level 5

Level 5 had a big presence at Sebring once again this year.

They finished 6th and 7th O/A and went 1-2 in LMP-2 with Tucker,
Franchitti and Briscoe taking the class win over the sister car of
Hunter-Reay, Tucker and Pagenau.

They had a third HPD ARX-03b which sat on their transporter elevator
all weekend. The car was in flat carbon fibre black with no sponsorship
or other markings but appeared to be ready to go.

It gave the impression that if someone had the bank to roll in and pay
Level 5 to rent the car for the weekend, they'd enter it as well.

For a team seemingly in so much trouble, there sure aren't any apparent
ill effects as they won the competitive (if not small) P2 class against Xtreme
Speed and Greaves.

Who's buying the movie rights to this story anyway?

BHW

 

Here's a few pics from the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring.
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They were lucky to be able to pull the team together for Sebring since even Jeff Braun didn't know he still had a job with them until very shortly before the race.

 

One thing I will give him is that he puts a first class team together with some very pretty equipment!

 

Rumors of the team's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Much of the reason for the 2013 uncertainty was that no other team had stepped up and committed to P2. With ESM running two ARX Hondas now, there was finally someone to race against. Level 5 will run at least through LeMans and after that it will depend on lots of factors including the progress of the USC rules package.

For those of you who have a poor opinion of Mr Tucker, you are entitled to your opinions, but unless you know the man and are familiar with the situation, you might consider the media's credibility before perpetuating, or expounding on any rumors.

My personal opinion in my almost 30 years of racing is he is one of the most trustworthy, loyal and generous individuals I have ever known. He is also, THE most enthusiastic and genuinely modest gentleman drivers I have ever coached.

 

It was actually a new LMPC car that had been ordered last fall and was for sale at Sebring. I think it was sold by the end of the week in fact.

 

A lot of so called libertarians bad mouth the pay day loan system. But they never offer any alternatives. Simple fact, pay day customers are people who can't get a loan from a bank or credit union. So what are they supposed to do? Get a loan from Tony "I'm gonna break your leg" Soprano?

All of this should be settled on the race track. If you think you can beat this guy, strap it on.

Dale

 

This is racing thread and I am just a racer. The last thing I want to do is get into a position of defending the payday loan business. But I will say this..that kind of business was around long before Scott Tucker and it will be around long after he retires. He is involved in many ventures and that is only one of them. To try and paint him somehow as the evil "father" of the breed is very unfair. All Tucker is guilty of is, like any good racer, he found a neat hole in the rules and drove right though it. They got pissed, and came after him. They've now changed the rules, he has adapted, the feds take their "cut" and life goes on. Don't kid yourself, the feds are a lot closer to Mr. Soprano than Mr. Tucker is.

Scott is in the business of making money and if any idea seems to makes a lot of it, he is probably interested.

 

interesting to note that the only two people to come to ST's defense in this thread are people who have made money off him.

 

Huh? Was I supposed to get a check? Come on Dude, fess up.

Dale

 

That's funny. I have about as much a chance of even being on the same track as pigs flying. Frankly, I know very little about the guy, other than he spends a lot of money on his racing, which last time I checked is not unusal at this level. But it does appear he gets bashed more for his off track activities than what he does on the track.

Since this is a racing thread, we probably should let this die. But I'll thrown in one last bone. I teach accounting ethics and one question I ask my students is, "Is it ethical to make money off stupid people? Big tobacco, for example, sells billions each year. So is that ethical?" The answer is yes so long as you are not lying, cheating, or stealing. In other words, if you disclose that you are ripping them off, then it is buyer beware.

Dale

 

There's making money and then there's taking advantage of and hurting people to make money. I'm fine with the former, not fine with the latter. To your comparison, it's like the difference between taking advantage of a loophole in the racing rules in aero or engine performance vs. taking advantage of a safety rule to go faster that makes it less safe for his competitors. Ok with the former, not with the latter. I don't care how nice he is, he's taking advantage of and hurting people to make a buck.

 

If there was no demand for this kind of loan, there would be no money to be made. Not all of these people are stupid or desperate, its just that the "conventional" credit system has found them unworthy and they have no other options. If you were a young mom with two kids to get to school and you needed $500 to get your car fixed right away...it might be worth $200 to borrow that until for two weeks until payday. If they don't pay as agreed..then bad things can happen, just like if you don't pay your car loan or mortgage. I am pretty sure no one is forced to take them out, and I am sure that the money "worked" as it was supposed to for the borrower. Then, once the issue is solved, some will cry about having to pay it back or the high costs involved.

You'd be surprised to discover that the PayDay loan business has FEWER consumer complaints per transaction than many business, including the conventional credit card/bank loan business.

As I said, I don't want to be put into the position of defending the business, just the man.

 

Outstanding, quality guy!

Tucker has a criminal past. In April 1988, at the age of 26, he borrowed $50,000 from American Bank of Kansas City, offering a new Porsche as collateral. Court records show that Tucker lied on the application; he had sold the sports car months earlier.

A year later, Tucker wrote a bad check for $1,200 to a moving company hired to transfer two loads of used furniture for a business, according to court records.

In the meantime, Tucker participated in a bogus loan scheme to bilk money out of businesses, court records reveal. While a partner in Oregon ran newspaper and magazine ads throughout the country offering commercial loans, Tucker posed as the president of a seemingly high-powered investment bank in Overland Park called Chase, Morgan, Stearns & Lloyd. The operation was a fraud, collecting more than $100,000 in “advance fees” from at least 15 borrowers without providing any loans.

Tucker ultimately pleaded guilty in federal court to two felony charges of mail fraud and making a false statement to a bank. A Missouri state judge found him guilty of a felony charge of passing a bad check. He was sentenced for all three crimes to serve a year in Leavenworth federal penitentiary, followed by three years of probation. He got out of prison on June 8, 1992.


Race car driver Scott Tucker drew an elaborate facade around his payday loan businesses | The Center for Public Integrity

 

Cool racer dude running a completely legal, ethical business!

The Center for Public Integrity: Payday lenders agree to stop 'deceptive and illegal' practices

 

I stand by my assessment, media blitzkrieg notwithstanding.

 

With that logic, drug sales, prostitution, murder for hire etc. would all be perfectly fine because there is a demand for them. Just because people are desperate and willing to hurt themselves for a quick fix (be it drugs, women or in this case, money), doesn't mean it's fine to provide it because you can make a crap load of money off of it.

There are usury laws for a reason, Tucker could perfectly legally loan people money at the maximum allowable rate and make a bunch of money off of them. Instead he goes after a loophole that lets him bypass usury laws and make even more money. It's disgusting.

 

Thanks Rob. All that is true, but the reason Scott has become fast is that he worked harder than anyone I've ever known. He was not blessed with an abundance of natural driving talent. He had to practice and become a student of the sport. He certainly leveraged his resources, but the results have been impressive. He turned the fastest lap of the weekend last year at Mosport in ALMS P2 for example..even faster than the pros.... He still works at his driving and condition on a daily basis to this day. Of course he has become a good friend, but my respect for his effort came first.

 

Who might those two people be?

 

Jerome, as you mentioned, they are very easy to drive...great balance, incredible brakes..for sure. I said they are not easy to drive FAST

 

That is correct, by the end of the weekend, in fact. (I actually called Tuesday and tried to purchase it, and was told Tuesday it was already sold)