Petit Le Mans will be the anniversary of Scott Tucker’s professional debut

by Cassandra E. Wheaton on September 30, 2011

The pinnacle of the 2011 American Le Mans series takes place on Oct. 1 with the 14th annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. For Scott Tucker, driver and owner for Level 5 Motorsports, the race marks the beginning of his sixth year of professional racing. In 2006, he made his professional debut at Petit Le Mans, and from there, his career took off.

“There are not many Americans that get to race there, first and foremost, so I feel very privileged to be among that group,” he said. “This year, we’re the only American prototype team there. We feel very fortunate we were selected to race there.”

The Petit Le Mans race is an endurance race modeled after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is its equivalent for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series. Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz founded it, and the first iteration ran on Oct. 10, 1998-and Panoz must have had a thing for tens, because the race covers a maximum of 1,000 miles or a minimum of 10 hours, whichever comes first. Class winners of Petit Le Mans automatically qualify for the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Tucker has increasingly focused on the American Le Mans Series as his career has continued. After he founded Level 5 Motorsports in 2008, his main actions have included drafting talented veterans known for incredible precision even at maximum speeds. This year’s Petit Le Mans has unofficially been the holy grail in Tucker’s eyes: Mid-season, he announced the switch from the team’s Nos. 55 and 95 Microsoft Office-sponsored LMP2 cars to a brand new, right-off-the-line HPD ARX-01g chassis, the result of a partnership between Honda Performance Development and Wirth Research. Tucker pushed hard to get the car finished as quickly as possible, of course without sacrificing quality. While making the transition between cars, Tucker even withdrew from ALMS races in Lime Rock Park and a huge one at Silverstone in Great Britain, choosing instead to focus on the all-important Petit ahead.

Now, Tucker has added a fourth elite driver to his already well-stacked team. Marino Franchitti will join the team and its new car-which Tucker marks as best in its class-for the 2011 race at Road Atlanta. Franchitti has extensive experience with the HPD prototype family, having participated in the first year of development of the ARX-01a with Andretti Green Racing before spending some LMP2 time with Dyson Racing. The addition of Franchitti to the lineup is an obvious sign that Tucker is going for the win at Petit Le Mans, though that’s never not the case when Tucker enters a race track. He is a three-time national driving champion. Level 5 Motorsports’ performance in 2010 during its debut year in the American Le Mans Series sent them to the top of the podium and bumped them into the LMP2 category.

Tucker has made giant strides since his Petit Le Mans professional debut in 2006, and this year he’s possibly the most prepared he’s ever been. A victory would mean another addition to Tucker’s unbelievable record in the past five years, and moving to the LMP1 category would mean that Tucker has made it to the top class in the sport he seemingly was born to compete in. Whatever the results end up meaning for Level 5 Motorsports, the work they’ve already put in this year make it clear that the team is one of the most prolific, aggressive racing organizations in the world.

Check out Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports at http://tinyurl.com/6d4f7zs

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Spotters provide an extra set of eyes for elite motorsports teams

by Shelly Newman on September 30, 2011

When sports car racers sail into the boards or another car, spin out and skid to a stop with only pieces of their cars in tact, spectators, engineers, managers and drivers alike start to whisper, what happened? Amazingly, most of the time it’s not because a driver forgot to check his blind spot; many people can’t avoid accidents traveling 70 mph on the freeway, so it’s remarkable that racing drivers can maintain speeds upwards of 150 mph on a closed circuit and avoid sideswiping one another.

For example, Level 5 Motorsports, a team owned by driver Scott Tucker that has competed in the American Le Mans Series, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series, the Ferrari Challenge series, the Rolex Grand-Am series and the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge series, has had its fair share of crashes. One of the most disappointing in the 2011 season was at the ILMC competition of the 1,000km of Spa-Francorchamps. A suspension failure sent Tucker’s co-driver Christophe Bouchut spinning out into the boards, and the contest was over for the Madison, Wisc.-based team. Tucker’s team is unique in its five-series schedule; for many professional sports car drivers, a race represents a one-time opportunity to increase their star power and reputation in the industry. Save for mechanical failures and flukes in the cars, drivers will do anything to ensure they have all their bases covered in order to be able to race at maximum speed with the smallest chance for error.

One way professional motorsports teams accomplish the feat is with the use of spotters, who stand at the top of the grandstands with the sole purpose of watching and alerting the team of any potential problems or opportunities.

“We look to see opportunities for racers to get by, and we check out the race strategy and the track to help out the drivers and the engineers,” said Ian, one of Tucker’s Level 5 team spotters. Spotters, from their perch atop the entire race venue, can see a lot: They can help drivers recognize a chance to pass competitors; they can alert team engineers that a driver is pulling off for a pit stop; they can alert drivers and mechanics about debris on the track that could cause problems; and they can even help drivers with crash strategy in the event that the car is headed directly toward a crash, in order to minimize the damage that the car will undergo.

A history between driver and spotter is fundamental to being successful together. During intense, fast-paced action races, spotters and drivers must communicate seamlessly and efficiently together, and so they must fully understand the meaning of what the other says.

Tucker’s own spotters must have been doing a good job this year, because he and his Level 5 team have enjoyed several successful races with hardly a scratch or a smudge on their cars-and that’s important. Level 5 making podium at four races within the first five months of the year, winning at the 12 Hours of Sebring, winning at the American Le Mans Series Monterey, and leaving the podium with clean cars to boot proves that a dynamic, cohesive team is paramount to success. Spotters and drivers represent one important relationship; certainly, engineers, mechanics, team managers and other positions must streamline their operations to make for the greatest chance of success. As Tucker and Level 5 Motorsports forge ahead for the Oct. 1 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the entire team will work to make the ALMS season’s closing race a victory. Said Ian, the Level 5 spotter: “We aren’t the most crucial element to the race; we’re just another member of the team.”

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Recent Alabama drug busts a concern after major police budget cuts announced for 2012; Scott Tucker Arrest

by Edward Booker on September 30, 2011

Birmingham, Ala., area police departments might have their hands a little fuller starting next year. Earlier this week, Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale announced significant layoffs and budget restrictions for the 2012 year. One hundred and one deputies and 38 support personnel will be laid off from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, and four substations will be closed to compensate for a $6.5 million reduction to next year’s fiscal budget.

The units that will be most decimated are the vice and narcotics units, with the number expected to drop from 251 to 150. It’s unclear how this will affect Jefferson County and the surrounding areas such as Shelby County and Tuscaloosa County, which are also losing Sherrif’s Department personnel. Earlier this month, Shelby County Pelham sheriff’s detective Lieutenant Scott Tucker arrested a woman who had allegedly deserted her children for several days and admitted to purchasing the prescription anti-anxiety and pain medications Xanax and Latrob illegally on the streets. That same week, Tucker retired from the Pelham Police Department.

The budget cuts and layoffs in Jefferson County could completely “do away” with the vice and narcotics unit in the Bessemer Cutoff, said Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. He called the effect “devastating,” and said that the entire county would then have to rely on the few vice and narcotics deputies left in the Birmingham division after all the cuts have been implemented to cover the whole county area.

The Jefferson County cuts come after the 2012 budget for the county was shorted $100 million from the $312 million plan originally approved for 2011 because the county lost the job tax and other revenue. Concern for public safety is a major result of the widespread cuts in the Birmingham, Center Point, Forestdale, Oak Grove and Mt. Olive areas, which are expected to be impacted greatly by the reduction in law enforcement, especially for crimes originally handled by the vice and narcotics divisions.

In addition to the narcotics problems Tucker’s Pelham division has seen and the possibility of increased narcotics use if the Birmingham deputies don’t have the numbers to control such a large county area, the general west Alabama area has faced other narcotics busts in recent weeks.

Last week, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force arrested six people after finding active methamphetamine labs in a home. A day before that, the agents had arrested four people for meth trafficking after deputies said they saw materials used for making the drug in the car during a traffic stop. After conducting an investigation, the agents found two meth labs that needed to be processed for usable meth, a third that was inactive and a fourth that was actively boiling. Department guidelines mandate that agents dispose of the chemicals when found. Of the 10 people under arrest, none were older than 35, and one woman was just 19 years old.

With an already widespread narcotics problem, the obstacle of reducing or completely eliminating vice and narcotics divisions in Jefferson County is hardly an ideal situation.

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Use Plastic Eggs For The Best Easter Egg Hunt Your Kids Have Ever Had

by Elton Joy on September 30, 2011

The Easter story is about a promise, and a gift. It is about the life of a man, his death, and his fulfillment of the ultimate gift giving sacrifice.They then hide these eggs for the kids to find. What, then, are these kids supposed to do with the eggs once they find them? Are they going to eat them? Most kids at Easter time are more interested in candy and toys than they are in eating real, hard boiled eggs, no matter what color they’ve been painted.

It’s the story of Pontius Pilot ending the life of the King of Kings and sentencing him to not only die, but to be assassinated, to be beaten and abused, to be crucified. That way, you can stuff them with whatever you want. This is great for the kids because not only do they get to participate in the Easter egg hunt but they also get to keep whatever they find inside the eggs they find.

The beauty of having the plastic eggs, is that the kids never know what they’re going to find in their eggs on their Easter egg hunt. For example, you can fill the eggs with candy, money, trinkets, toys, or whatever else you choose. The money part doesn’t need to be a lot, even a dollar is a lot of money to small child, but it’s the excitement it creates that makes it for one fun Easter egg hunt. By shopping at the dollar store, you can find all sorts of things to fill your plastic eggs with. You’ll probably end up spending less than you would had you used real eggs with Easter egg coloring kits, and the kids will have much more fun than if you would have used real eggs.

When you are planning an Easter egg hunt, you want it to be difficult for the children but not impossible. Don’t hide the Easter eggs on top of anything tall, for instance, so that the children can’t even reach them. A better place to hide them is under chairs, behind the couch, on the stairs, or anywhere that will force them to look but just make sure it’s not so easy that the Easter egg hunt is over in a couple of seconds.

The Easter story isn’t just about the death, though that is the key asset to the gift of eternal life; it’s about the resurrection. Jesus promised that he would rise again on the third day to show the world that he paid the price for their sins. This was the finish to his purpose in life, he died, and by rising again he showed that his death was exactly what he said it would be, a payment.

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Prom Dresses This year : Getting Your own personal Fashion Statement For The Upcoming Promenade Period

by Caroyln Keranen on September 30, 2011

A party is really a official boogie kept to get a high school graduation or college school or graduating celebration, usually kept at or perhaps near the finish with the educational 12 months as well as prom dresses have been in the top from the record for female’s party programs. Regardless if you are searching for developer prom gowns, trend-setting designs or perhaps need to pick affordable evening ensemble for your party; there will always be the right outfit to fit equally your own creativeness as well as budget. Whenever you purchase prom gowns on the internet, an individual become a member of the actual rates of varied girls that are content using the comfort, value and quality of their buying expertise. The choices are usually nearly endless; thus, it is possible to undoubtedly find the proper gown. It is still best to find out the minds and remember it is not nearly acquiring a relatively inexpensive gown or making use of the best looking website.

However some may gravitate toward prom dresses that expose the newest craze don’t disregard the influence with the classic outfit that could most likely provide you with the actual belle of the basketball upon promenade evening. A few basic things to consider in selecting prom dresses needs to be the body type, gown color and style. The key to creating an effect should be to transform your greatest features and this can be quickly attained with well-placed embellishments as an example rhinestones, embelleshment or even ruffles. Style inside shades regarding prom dresses may change annuallyBridesmaid Dresses while not everyone is able to accomplish the intense neon’s or perhaps fuchsia in which features since the fashion at the moment. Should you really want to produce a good entrance, decide on a outfit that enhances your skin, eyes and also hair colour or even, at the very least, include components that will help you stick out.

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Clearly, prom dresses are at the top of virtually any checklist regarding girls’ prom programs. And also, while you are making that list, put a camera as well as film, due to the fact prom photos will immortalize a person within the conventional outfit you have selected. Prom dresses are simply just one group of cocktail dress, thus take the time to store the numerous websites on the internet accessible. You need to plenty of amount of time in getting yourself ready just about any adjustments you could need or reap the benefits of nice come back policies, whenever necessary.

Prom gowns should be very carefully chosen regarding top quality as well as fit, ensuring you might have the exact, the most recent measurements readily available any time buying. Enable adequate time period when ordering, in the event you will need minor adjustments to have it entirely fit before that crucial night. Ultimately, another essential consideration when selecting out your numerous prom dresses accessible is to pick a dress which conveys your personality and also self-confidence. If you believe beautiful, confident, you will broaden these types of attributes and become noticed on yourFormal Dresses crucial night actually content.

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