Lakeville, Conn. (4 October 2012) – Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing capped off a dominating season by winning the final race of the year at Lime Rock Park and securing the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Team Championship.
The team, which signaled its championship intentions with a huge victory in its very first race at Daytona International Speedway in January 2010, clinched the team championship title when drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb drove to their fifth victory of the season – as the team won half of this year’s race events. The team was able to deliver this incredible performance despite their successes motivating GRAND-AM to add 150 lbs in extra ballast to their Porsche 911, just to let other teams try and keep up. It didn’t work.
Despite the balance of performance measures, the team’s strong results throughout the season saw Rum Bum Racing among the top-five championship contenders all year long with impressive performances in all corners of the country, from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to Watkins Glen to Daytona.
The No. 13 Porsche completed 92% of race laps – leading 33% of the laps with the Porsche machine pacing the field in eight of the 10 races this season. 
Longhi, who initially spotted for Rum Bum Racing before moving to the cockpit late in the 2010 season, proved to be a strong addition to the team from day one, playing a key role as the qualifying and starting driver. He has since scored four pole positions and this year started among the top-10 in nine races. A fifth pole position saw him move to the back of the pack to start the race after making a technical change and losing the point position for the start of the race. A strong team is a strong team, though, and Rum Bum powered through the field to still take the victory after leading 57 of 82 laps.
Rum Bum Racing played a crucial role in helping BMW win the 2010 and 2011 GRAND-AM Manufacturer Championships when the team campaigned a BMW M3. In 2012, it was Porsche that was helped most by Rum Bum Racing on the way to the Manufacturers Championship after the team made a shocking mid-season switch to Porsche.
This year’s extraordinary statistics only added to Rum Bum Racing’s already impressive numbers. In just three years of racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series, the Joe Varde-led team has amassed 11 wins, four poles, and 20 top-five results in 31 starts. Rum Bum Racing machines have been running at the end of 2,248 race laps for a total of 91% laps completed. Of those laps, the Rum Bum cars have led a staggering 486 laps which is 20% of all the laps raced throughout the three years. A Rum Bum machine has led the field in 19 of 30 races.
Rum Bum Racing has shown that no matter what they are racing, they can take it to the front. What makes this team click? Luis Bacardi assembled a veritable all-star team when he brought Rum Bum Racing together.
