Orlando, Fla. (28 June 2013) – New car blues? Not for Rum Bum Racing.
When Matt Plumb took the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio ahead of the entire GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge field last weekend, it not only marked the 13th time that a Rum Bum Racing car has won in GRAND-AM, but it also was the third time that the team took a brand new machine directly to victory lane.
The team opened its first chapter of GRAND-AM competition back in 2010 by kicking down the door to the fabled winner circle at Daytona International Speedway as young Gian Bacardi teamed with Matt Plumb to bring the team’s BMW M3 a victory in the group’s first-ever race. The team went on to score three wins in 2010 and then scored three more victories with the No. 13 M3 in 2011 to help power BMW to the GRAND-AM Manufacturer Championship.
Fast forward to April 2012, when Rum Bum Racing made the shock switch to the Porsche 911 at Barber Motorsports Park. Using a car that another group had built, the move to the rear-engined car didn’t faze the team one bit as Plumb and co-driver Nick Longhi came home with a big win in the Porsche 200 as the team debuted with the famed car from Stuttgart. The duo, who have a combined GRAND-AM win total of over 30 victories, went on to take five wins in 2012 as the team scored the Team Championship honors.
Led by Luis Bacardi, the team looked forward to 2013 to build and develop the group’s first-ever in-house entry. Taking the full opportunity to not only build the best possible Porsche but also test the car ahead of duty, the Joe Varde-led squad once again impressed at Mid-Ohio as the team won in its first-ever outing in the 911.
“Nick (Longhi) and I work really hard in the car to get the best possible result that we can, but we all know that without the hard work of this crew that we would have no chance of success,” said Plumb. “To win with the car that the team built, and to have it be the 13th victory for the team, was really something special. All the credit goes to Mr. Bacardi for believing in this group and to Joe (Varde) for his vision and leadership on the pit wall. Hopefully we can continue to bring that kind of result for the entire team and work towards another championship.”
The team enters the Continental Tire 150 race weekend at Watkins Glen as defending race winners and will look to once again show what the group is capable of on Saturday.
A 15-minute qualifying session will take place Saturday morning at 10:40 AM (ET) with the 2.5-hour race set to go green at 3:00 PM (ET) Saturday.
Live timing and scoring is available at www.grand-am.com throughout the weekend. SPEED will televise the Continental Tire 150 Sunday, July 7 at 4:00 PM (ET).
