He has scored his first IndyCar victory this season but 2010 American Le Mans Series prototype champion Simon Pagenaud still loves to come back to sportscars whenever he can.

After finishing second in P2 for Level 5 Motorsports at Sebring, Pagenaud returned this weekend at Road America to team up with Scott Tucker.

While he has Honda power in both the back of his Sam Schmidt Motorsports IndyCar and his Level 5 Motorsports P2 car – that is about where the similarities ends.

However, it didn’t take long for the popular Frenchman to get back on the pace. Pagenaud was brought in to fill in for Ryan Briscoe who is still recovering from a broken wrist suffered in an IndyCar crash on the streets of Toronto.

Tucker completed the first hour of the race today before handing over to Pagenaud. He was in third place after making his final pit stop with 30 minutes remaining. Good to go on fuel – he pushed hard and was in position to grab the top spot when teammate Marino Franchitti and ESM’s Guy Cosmo had to pit for a splash of fuel with 15 minutes remaining.

“It’s good to be back here, and with a team like Level 5. They are a top team. I was able to compete with them in Sebring and got second there,” Pagenaud said.

“I was able to join Scott here this weekend, and Ryan hurt his wrist so I am filling in for him, so the reason is not nice.

“It’s not easy to go from the Indycars and get in the P2. It’s different tires and a different skill set, the traffic is something to learn, but I’m always happy to keep coming back to the ALMS.

“I’m glad to help Scott get points in his championship. And it was a fun race.”