Orlando, Fla. (20 January 2014) – The two-time defending IMSA Champion Rum Bum Racing squad is ready to get the season off to another fast start, and the team has doubled down to score a big result this weekend in the home race.
The team will kick off the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship in Friday’s BMW Performance 200 at Daytona International Speedway (Rum Bum Racing Fans can tune into same day broadcast on Fox Sports 2 at 6:00 PM ET) with a strong two-car entry for the opening round of the 2014 season.
Rum Bum Racing will return to a two-car effort for the season-opener with 2013 IMSA champions Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi returning to the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche, while 15-year-old Kaz Grala will join sportscar veteran Hugh Plumb in the No. 03 Rum Bum Racing BMW M3.
The addition of the No. 03 BMW for the Daytona event followed a successful and productive test at the Roar Before the 24 two weeks ago when Grala and Hugh Plumb each logged laps around the 3.56-mile roval circuit driving the BMW machine during the three-day test. It was the first experience in the BMW, and first taste of professional level road racing, for Grala, who currently competes in the United Auto Racing Association Late Model Stock Tour, and the young racer immediately impressed the team.
Rum Bum Racing will make history at Daytona as Grala is set to become the youngest driver to compete in IMSA history. He is the son of Darius Grala who raced in the GT and Daytona Prototype ranks from 2002-2005, winning at Watkins Glen in his debut race.
“Kaz did an absolutely amazing job at the test,” said team manager Matt Plumb. “He really set everyone’s minds at ease that he could get the job done and he fit in perfectly working well with all of us. He is very professional, especially for his young age. I also love the fact that Rum Bum Racing is once again part of making history. I think that he’s going to raise some eyebrows this weekend and we are very excited to have him on board.”
Rum Bum Racing, which operates its race shop in nearby Orlando, Florida, has traditionally performed well at the Daytona circuit, which features the famous Daytona high banks as well as the twisty infield sections of the road course.
The 2014 event marks Rum Bum’s fifth Daytona race and the team has never finished outside of the top-five at the track. The group claimed victory in its first-ever race in 2010 in the No. 13 BMW with drivers Gian Bacardi and Matt Plumb. Rum Bum Racing returned the following year and once again claimed top honors with the No. 13 BMW. 2012 saw Rum Bum Racing take fifth at the finish. The road to the championship in 2013 kicked off with a run to the podium for Longhi and Plumb as the potent duo claimed the team’s third Daytona podium as the two took a second-place finish.
“Going into this race is an insurmountable challenge because everybody raises their game,” said Plumb of the season-opening event. “The one thing you can be sure of is that as the bar is raised, our crew rises with it. We have done a tremendous amount of work over the off-season to make sure we are at the level or above everybody else. Just like last year, we didn’t have the five wins that we had the year before, but we had the consistency. We got the car reliable, the handling is consistent and we can make it run over a long period of time. So that is going to be our strong point and our focus, keep finishing and keep it reliable.”
Rum Bum Racing is the first to field a 15-year-old driver in an IMSA-sanctioned event and the team will target another first this weekend: with a strong two-car effort, the group looks to take its first double podium finish.
“The Roar test allowed me to get comfortable in the car and with the track, both being new to me,” said Grala. “Heel-toe down-shifting is a technique that I wasn’t completely confident with coming into the test, but by the second day, it felt completely natural. The most important thing for me in the race will be to stay relaxed. I enjoy road racing a lot and this car is a blast to drive. I very much appreciate this opportunity from Mr. Bacardi to be with a championship winning team. I cannot wait for the race on Friday!”
The team was further encouraged in the test by the pace that the BMW showed with both Grala and Hugh Plumb at the wheel, underscoring the strength of preparation by the team as the M3 had not turned a wheel in anger for over a year yet was right on pace in testing.
“I’ve raced against Rum Bum Racing this team for several years, and now, getting the chance to run for this team is an incredible honor and I’m really grateful to Mr. Bacardi for the opportunity,” said Hugh Plumb, who has countless laps of experience with the BMW M3 platform. “Everyone is 100% dedicated to winning, and the level of preparation is just incredible. I’m really looking forward to racing with Kaz (Grala)-he was just really incredible in the test. He approached it like an experienced 25 year old racer, not a 15 year old who was coming from a circle track background. What he did in the test was pretty amazing and I am sure he will continue to hit his marks and just keep improving. This is a great opportunity and I’m just really looking forward to Daytona.”
Both cars will take to the track for official practice on Wednesday (1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM). Thursday will see a third round of practice (11:45 AM – 12:15 PM) before a 15-minute qualifying session which is set to begin at 2:30 PM. A 30-minute final practice will take place at 9:45 AM on Friday with the 2.5-hour race to begin at 1:45 PM. All times are Eastern Standard.
Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.scoring.imsa.com. FOX Sports 2 will have same-day television coverage of the season opener at 6:00 PM (ET).
Rum Bum Racing Information:
2010: 3 Wins (Daytona, Trois Riviers, Miller Motorsports Park)
BMW Manufacturer Championship
2011: 3 Wins (Daytona, Lime Rock Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course)
BMW Manufacturer Championship
2012: 5 Wins (Barber Motorsports Park, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Road America, Watkins Glen, Lime Rock Park) IMSA Team Champions, Porsche wins Manufacturer Championship
2013: 3 Wins (Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America)
IMSA Team and Driver Champions, Porsche wins Manufacturer Championship
Kaz Grala Bio:
At 4 years old, Kaz got his first kart – a CRG Bambino with a 50cc Comer, which he raced at the F1-Outdoors road course in Massachusetts.
At 7 he started racing year-round at F1-Boston, a multi-track indoor road racing facility also in Massachusetts. He accumulated over 100 wins and 2 championships.
At 10 he started racing Bandolero cars in Charlotte NC. This was his introduction to oval racing. He won multiple championships (oval and road course) including the most prestigious Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
At 12 Kaz moved up to Legend Cars. In 2012 he won 15 of 58 races run all over the country on both ovals and road courses. Ended Legends by winning the Winter Heat Championship at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the highest and age-unlimited Pro Division.
Kaz kicked off 2013 as the youngest NASCAR driver ever to compete at Daytona International Speedway. At 14 years and 51 days old he started his first ever race in a Late Model Stock Car at the inaugural Battle at the Beach. On June 22, 2013 Kaz won his first LMSC race at Hickory Motor Speedway – becoming the youngest winner in UARA series history.
At the Roar test (Jan 3-5), Grala was 15 years and 5 days old, the youngest driver ever to participate in an IMSA/Grand-Am sanctioned event.
*2013 was another championship year for Rum Bum Racing, watch the video here: http://www.imsa.com/imsa-tv/episode/rum-bum-racing-2013-championship-season
*Youngest-ever driver in modern IMSA Era as promising young NASCAR pilot joins Rum Bum Racing for Daytona round with experienced BMW veteran Hugh Plumb
*BMW and Porsche dual-attack for 2012 and 2013 IMSA Champions
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Daytona Beach, Fla. (5 January 2014) – Following a quick turnaround from the holiday season, Rum Bum Racing went back to work this weekend as the team looks to not only return to victory lane at Daytona International Speedway, but also make progress towards a third consecutive IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Championship.
With a mixture of old and new, the team struck a great balance over the weekend and is prepared to take on the challenge of the new IMSA era.
With three days of testing for the Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, Rum Bum Racing was in full force as the team took to the track with two entries.
Leading the effort was the defending champion No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 911 with Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi behind the wheel, with the sister No. 03 BMW M3 being shared by Rum Bum Racing newcomers Hugh Plumb and Kaz Grala. The BMW hadn’t been used in anger for quite some time, and arrived to the test fully prepared as Rum Bum Racing fans have come to expect.
“It was important for us to bring the BMW to give us a kind of baseline of where everybody really is,” said Matt Plumb. “And to be able to dust this thing off after sitting for two years and have it be top-two and top-three on the time sheets every time we tried to go fast shows us that we have a lot to look out for this season.”
Laying down over 200 laps throughout the three day test gave the Rum Bum crew valuable information and experience going into the opening race of the season, and the entire team feels confident in their ability to contend with the field and finish the race well.
Although the Rum Bum crew comes into this season with two consecutive championships under their belts and a great amount of familiarity among the team, they are by no means taking anything for granted and know what it will take to get that elusive top spot on the podium at the BMW Performance 200.
“With all the years that this team now has worked together, it is comfortable–but there is no complacency–we are just as motivated as the first day we showed up here in Daytona four years ago,” added Plumb. “Everybody knows how everybody else works and as I have said before, everybody had been so familiar with everybody from the moment we started this deal.”
Grala, who is the 15 year old son of former Daytona Prototype pilot Darius Grala, set a new mark as the youngest to participate in an IMSA event at Daytona International Speedway. But the outing was no mere statistical exhibition run, as the youngster was right on the pace with the BMW as he soaked up as much guidance as he could from his experienced co-driver Hugh Plumb.
“This week was awesome! I have never raced on this track, never driven it and actually never even seen it until this week,” said Grala, who also was in short track action on Saturday night at the fabled New Smyrna Speedway just down the road. “I had also never been in this car before so it was a whole new experience for me. I had a little bit of experience with the heel-toe downshifting, but not much at all. I was never able to do it really smoothly until this weekend. I got really comfortable with it because this track has a lot of heavy braking zones and downshifts. Really I have just been having fun out there this weekend.”
Hugh Plumb, who has won in IMSA with brother Matt as his co-driver, was impressed with what he saw in his first outing with Rum Bum Racing.
“First of all what a privilege it is to drive with such a team of absolute champions,” said Hugh Plumb. “They prove it on and off the track. So it is a huge privilege to be able to drive with them and hopefully we can continue the relationship. My co-driver, Kaz Grala, did an amazing job, and a big thanks to Luis Bacardi and my brother Matt Plumb for giving me this opportunity today.”
With such a big weekend, it was understandable that Grala could hardly shake the grin from his face.
“It was huge to be able to partner with Rum Bum Racing,” said Grala. “Everything from driving tips, downshifting tips, just everything. These guys really helped out and they seriously know what they are talking about, obviously coming off of two championships they are no slouches.”
Rum Bum Racing will be back in action in three weeks’ time for the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona International Speedway January 25.
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Orlando, Fla. (2 January 2014) – This weekend, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing will return to Daytona International Speedway, the site of its dramatic breakthrough debut victory, for a three day test as the team looks to score a third consecutive IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Team Championship in 2014.
The team has enjoyed remarkable success at the fabled high-banked track and will open the 2014 IMSA season with three days of testing during the traditional “Roar Before the 24” test. The team is pleased to have Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi return to co-drive the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche as the 2013 IMSA Driver Champions look to add to their stellar race record together.
Also on hand with Rum Bum Racing for the Roar test will be Kaz Grala and Hugh Plumb, who will be testing the No. 03 BMW M3 machine that the team first scored a victory with at the track in 2010.
Kaz Grala, who is the son of former Daytona Prototype pilot Darius, has been building a career on the NASCAR path and has already notched several championships and records on his way up. The wins and accomplishments are all the more impressive given that he is yet to turn 16 years old. (15 years, 5 days old as of the first day of the test, setting a record for youngest driver to participate in an IMSA event).
The young driver is eager to soak up as much experience as he can get as he samples the car in the test.
Hugh Plumb has raced the BMW M3 platform the last two years and will take part in the test to support Grala’s progress on the track while also helping the team get reacquainted with the BMW platform.
“Nick (Longhi) and I have known Darius for ages and have literally watched Kaz grow up, so we’ve followed his progress in NASCAR and it’s been nothing short of impressive,” said Plumb. “We mentioned to Mr. Bacardi that there was a young talent who was looking to get some experience in a sports car and he was 100% behind us bringing this M3 out for the test. Hugh has a lot of current experience in the BMW so he should be a great help to Kaz to learn the car and the track as well. This is going to be another incredibly competitive season, and we have a big list of things we want to learn this weekend to be in as strong a position as possible for when we come back to race in a few weeks.”
The test will run from Friday to Sunday (schedule link: http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Tickets-Events/Events/2014/Roar-Before-The-Rolex-24/Schedule.aspx). IMSA.com will post timing and scoring information throughout the weekend.
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Kaz Grala notes:
- At 4 years old, Kaz got his first kart – a CRG Bambino with a 50cc Comer, which he raced at the F1-Outdoors road course in Massachusetts.
- At 7 he started racing year-round at F1-Boston, a multi-track indoor road racing facility also in Massachusetts. He accumulated over 100 wins and 2 championships.
- At 10 he started racing Bandolero cars in Charlotte NC. This was his introduction to oval racing. He won multiple championships (oval and road course) including the most prestigious Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- At 12 Kaz moved up to Legend Cars. In 2012 he won 15 of 58 races run all over the country on both ovals and road courses. Ended Legends by winning the Winter Heat Championship at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the highest and age-unlimited Pro Division.
- Kaz kicked off 2013 as the youngest NASCAR driver ever to compete at Daytona International Speedway. At 14 years and 51 days old he started his first ever race in a Late Model Stock Car at the inaugural Battle at the Beach. On June 22, 2013 Kaz won his first LMSC race at Hickory Motor Speedway – becoming the youngest winner in UARA series history.
- When he climbs into the Rum Bum car tomorrow, he will be 15 years and 5 days old. The youngest driver ever to participate in an IMSA/Grand-Am sanctioned event.
The post Rum Bum Racing Ready to Roar in Daytona Once Again appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.
Notes:
2nd consecutive GRAND-AM Team Championship
First driver championship for both Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi
Rum Bum Racing Helps Porsche Secure Manufacturer Championship (Rum Bum Racing team manufacturer affiliation has won every year that Rum Bum has raced in GRAND-AM)
2013 Rum Bum Racing: 11 starts, 1 pole, 3 wins, 7 podiums, 9 top-fives, 91 laps led
Total since 2010 GRAND-AM debut: 41 starts, 14 wins, 5 poles, 22 podiums, 28 top-fives, 2936/3168 laps completed (93%)
Lakeville, Conn. (29 September 2013) – On Saturday at Lime Rock Park, Rum Bum Racing made history, once again.
With scores of friends and family as well as team owner Luis Bacardi and wife Jennifer on hand, Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi combined to bring the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche home on the podium at Lime Rock Park to secure the team’s second consecutive GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Team Championship.
The run to the podium finish capped an 11-race run to the championship as the Bacardi-led squad completed a successful defense of their breakthrough 2012 championship.
The 2013 season saw Rum Bum Racing utilize both teamwork and speed in equal measure to score three wins and seven podiums, including the incredible debut for the team’s in-house built Porsche 911 that saw Rum Bum win at Mid-Ohio. After track debris went into the engine area at the penultimate round of racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Rum Bum Racing fans had to wait until Lime Rock Park for the team to confirm the championship goal.
“Winning one of these championships is like getting struck by lightning; it rarely ever happens twice,” said Plumb. “And the fact that we have won it twice like this is really a testament to the team, from the top-down. From Mr. Bacardi to Joe Varde to all the guys going over the wall, everyone knows what their job is, they know how to do it.
“In 2009 when Joe Varde and I sat down and tried to map out what this was all going to look like, winning the 2012 and 2013 championship was not necessarily ‘hanging off the tree’,” said Plumb, who also works outside the cockpit as the general manager for the team. “But we knew we wanted to win races and we knew we had to please our owner whose goal was to win races and so we are just thrilled to have had the luck and the good fortune to get here.”
Longhi, who qualified sixth, then took a heads-up and conservative approach in the early stages of the race before turning the car over to Plumb to take to the finish. On the final pit stop during the all-green-flag race, Varde eschewed new Continental Tires to score track position.
The race, like much of what Rum Bum Racing has set out to achieve, went largely according to plan as Plumb was able to move up to fight for a third place finish as the team capped off an incredible year with yet more champagne.
“It was obviously a culmination of a lot of effort,” said Longhi. “It all started with Luis Bacardi and Matt Plumb who were the originators of the entire concept and approach, and then Joe Varde bringing that team together that Matt has run. Not only does he drive the car but he also runs the team, and over the last few years it has been a fantastically successful arrangement.”
Claiming his first-ever driver championship was something that Longhi was happy to do, but the New York resident has been focused on what the team could accomplish from day one.
“It’s an incredibly privileged position to be in, to be involved with this group of people because they are fantastic,” said Longhi. “It’s a fantastic group of people. I don’t know if ‘chemistry’ is the right word, but we are all friends and I think that is extremely important.”
Rum Bum Racing will look forward to continuing its legacy of success, and will announce plans for 2014 in the coming weeks.
The Lime Rock Park Champions Weekend race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 on October 6 at 5:00 PM ET.
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Lakeville, Connecticut (27 September 2013) – With a conservative approach in play, Rum Bum Racing will start from sixth on the grid for the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Championship Weekend event at Lime Rock Park on Saturday.
Nick Longhi, who along with co-driver Matt Plumb, leads both the team and driver championships, will open the race from the third row after he posted a fast lap time of 57.697-seconds around the quick 1.53-mile Lime Rock Park track. With a significant gap in the points, Rum Bum Racing is poised to score a second consecutive GRAND-AM championship on Saturday.
“The car is great,” said Longhi of the qualifying run. “We know what we have to do for the race and as usual (crew chief) Joe Varde and the crew have prepared an immaculate car. It’s good, it’s quick and it’s reliable. It’s a great track. We love Lime Rock. It’s my and Matt’s (Plumb) home track. We’ve won the last two races here. We just love this place. There is no place like it in North America. In terms of the feeling of this racetrack and the fans, I just love it. Well done for the crew, having the car ready to go off the trailer. I don’t think we’ve touched it in terms of set up changes. Joe (Varde) just nailed it.”
With just one 45-minute practice session held ahead of qualifying, the GS teams had limited time to work on car setups. But the Rum Bum Racing crew delivered yet another strong car with both drivers happy with the setup before the practice session was even completed. After just 18 laps of running, Rum Bum Racing was happy with the car as the team posted the fifth quickest time of the session.
Though the team has played a conservative hand entering the season-finale event, Lime Rock has traditionally been a very strong circuit for Rum Bum Racing with the squad having won the previous two events at the track.
“We’re being careful in terms of saving the car mechanically for the race,” continued Longhi. “We know we have to score the points because the big picture is the championship. We don’t want to get in the middle of other people’s races as well. There are plenty of races going for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, in the championship. Once we have done what we need to do, we’ll move on to the next thing, but right now we’re being conservative. The car is great and we’re ready to go.”
The qualifying session marked the final time the GS cars will be on track ahead of the race which is set to go green Saturday at 9:50 AM ET. Live timing and scoring is available on www.grandam.com. FOX Sports 1 will televise the race Sunday, October 6 at 5:00 PM (ET).
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Monterey, Calif. (8 September 2013) – With team owner Luis Bacardi and wife Jennifer on hand, Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi combined to bring the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche home in 16th place in the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival as the team moved closer to the goal of securing a second consecutive GRAND-AM Championship on Sunday.
The race didn’t feature the team’s trademark speed and strategy to create results. Instead, it was teamwork that ruled the day after debris got into the motor area and shredded the serpentine belt. The part is a crucial one, driving a range of motor functions including the all-important water pump to cool the motor.
Recognizing the issue as the race hit the 30 minute mark, Longhi returned the car to pit lane after turning the motor off at the top of the hill and coasting all the way into the pit box to preserve the motor.
“Something–could have been a rock or any other kind of debris–shredded the belt,” said Longhi. “I felt the power steering fail. The belt also runs the water pump so the car started to overheat and I had to stop. Obviously that’s a big fix. They changed it fast, but unfortunately it’s not the kind of thing you can change during a race and not lose laps, so we lost laps but we’ll never give up and keep going.”
The team jumped right into the overheated area and started to work on the very complicated repair, which would likely take several days in the service bay of the dealer down the street. But for Rum Bum Racing, it was less than 20 minutes work although it came at the cost of nearly 15 laps lost to the leader.
Plumb took over the driving duties, and worked on making the laps as he tried to convert the team’s hard work into crucial championship points.
“What goes around, comes around, and we have gotten our share of great luck this season,” said Plumb after the race. “Everything has gone our way from strategy to mechanical durability, so it’s just a matter of time when something’s going to happen. But it’s just kind of crushing when it happens at a time like this. The good news is that we’ve got a big enough lead where we can come back, not trying to do anything stupid, like we’ve done for the whole season and see what happens. The Rum Bum crew, once again—a problem pops up, a lot of people panic, they don’t, they just figure out what needs to be done and luckily we were able to get out and finish it all. Great team effort. This wasn’t what we came out here to do, but we’ll just focus on making the most of our chance at Lime Rock Park.”
A second driver change helped to make sure that both pilots earned their points as the team now holds a 34-point lead in the provisional points.
The group will look to close the championship with a strong run at Lime Rock park, having won at the track in 2011 and 2012.
The post Rum Bum Racing Moves Closer To Goal in Monterey appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.
Monterey Calif. (7 September 2013) – The GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge championship-leading team of Rum Bum Racing will start the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from the seventh row after Nick Longhi set a lap time of 1:37.800-seconds during Saturday afternoon’s 15-minute qualifying session. The No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche will line up 13th on the 54-car combined class grid.
Rum Bum Racing holds a 51-point advantage in the 2013 championship with just two rounds yet to run, and could secure a second consecutive GRAND-AM Team Championship with a finish of 11th or better in Sunday’s 2.5-hour race.
The group utilized Saturday’s two practice sessions ahead of the qualifying session to dial in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche to ensure that Longhi and Matt Plumb have the proper set-up for Sunday’s race around the 2.238-mile Laguna Seca road course.
Longhi will open the race before handing the controls over to Matt Plumb who will take the Porsche machine to the finish. The team has four poles to its credit, but hasn’t yet fully unlocked the speed in the No. 13 as the group continues to work towards finding the best balance for the penultimate race of the season.
“We’ve improved the balance with the car, but for some reason we just are not as quick as we were hoping we would be,” said Longhi. “I made a mistake in turn nine and that certainly cost us some time that we left on the table. But, even if that hadn’t happened we still are not where we thought we would be. But this is just an incredible team, and we’ll keep working on it and be ready to go. We are very focused and will just keep working.”
Both Longhi and Plumb have years of experience at the California circuit and will look to use their knowledge of the 11-turn track to move forward with a clean, trouble-free run and come home with a top-11 finish to clinch the 2013 GRAND-AM championship title.
The 2.5-hour Continental Tire Sports Car Festival event is set to begin at 10:00 AM local time (1:00 PM ET). Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.grand-am.com.
The event will be televise on FOX Sports 1 on September 15at 4:00 PM (ET).
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Notes:
3 wins in 2013 (Barber, Mid-Ohio, Road America), 14 total wins since 2010
2013: 91 laps led in 7 of 9 races so far
2012: Rum Bum led late at MRLS before controversial call sent the team back
2011: Finished 3rd at MRLS
Orlando, Fla. (5 September 2013) – After winning the 2012 GRAND-AM championship in the season-finale race at Lime Rock Park last year, Rum Bum Racing had one goal for the No. 13 in 2013: repeat.
And the team could do exactly that this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as the Joe Varde-led group holds a point advantage that could see the group clinch the championship title with a finish of 11th or better in Sunday’s race.
With just two races remaining in the 2013 championship, Rum Bum Racing enters the race weekend firmly atop the standings with a 51-point lead. Drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi also lead the Driver Championship by the same margin.
In a season that has seen Rum Bum Racing travel to a range of tracks as varied as the wide open spaces of Road America and the tight confines of the Kansas Speedway roval, consistency has been key. Rum Bum Racing has won three races this year (Barber, Mid-Ohio, Road America) and has finished among the top-five in all but one race (the team finished 10th at Road Atlanta). The No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche has completed all of the race laps in 2013 and has led laps in seven of nine races for a total of 91 laps led. These impressive stats have seen Rum Bum Racing at the top of the championship standings throughout most of the year.
As Rum Bum Racing returns to race action this weekend at Laguna Seca, the group takes to a track where it has been strong before. While driving the No. 13 BMW in Rum Bum Racing’s Laguna Seca debut in 2011, Longhi and Plumb drove to a podium finish of third. In last year’s race, the Rum Bum squad looked well on its way to another podium finish in the No. 13 Porsche until a curious and confusing call from GRAND-AM came after Plumb followed the leading car to the green on one of the final restarts. The leading car as well as Plumb was forced to pit road to serve a stop and go penalty with just six minutes remaining in the race, and with that, Rum Bum Racing relinquished a sure podium finish and a possible win.
While Rum Bum Racing looks for redemption this year, the group maintains its championship goal. Just as the team as done all season long, Rum Bum will focus on collecting points with a clean and straightforward race around the 2.238-mile California circuit.
“We’ve been really focused on the championship, ever since last year when we first started working on plans for the 2013 season,” said Plumb. “But now that we are so close, I have to admit that I don’t want to think about it at all! Hopefully we can just have a clean race and just see where we come out. Joe (Varde) has all the guys really focused as usual, and we will just look to come in and execute on our plan, the same way we’ve done every weekend this year. ”
The race weekend begins with a promoter test day on Friday. Official practice will take place on Saturday with the 15-minute GS qualifying session set for Saturday at 4:00 PM (PST). The 2.5-hour Continental Tire Sports Car Festival event will go green at 10:00 AM (PST) on Sunday.
Live timing and scoring is available at www.grand-am.com. FOX Sports 1 will televise the race Sunday, September 15 at 4:00 PM (ET).
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Notes:
*Rum Bum Racing continues to lead the championship, with a provisional 51-point margin
*22nd podium result for Rum Bum Racing
Kansas City, Kan. (17 August 2013) – Just one week after taking a dramatic race victory at Road America last weekend, Rum Bum Racing was back on the GRAND-AM podium on Saturday.
Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi combined for a run to second place with the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche at Kansas Speedway after Plumb fought “…like a terrier chasing a tennis ball” for the lead in the final laps of the race.
But with a championship chase to consider and knowing that the car he was dueling with had a better launch from the slow-speed corners, Plumb ran out of time to make a move to the front, coming home in second place as Rum Bum Racing celebrated its 22nd GRAND-AM podium result.
Longhi opened the race from third on the grid and held station on the inside line at the start. The race was set on a bipolar race track, with a long wide open section of oval combined with the slow tight infield section. The claustrophobic confines of the infield made for some dicey moments, particularly as the GS class machinery moved through the ST class field. It was exactly that kind of traffic that saw Longhi take side to side contact and shuffled back to 11th in the order.
But Longhi kept his cool, slowly working back up to top-five contention before turning the car over to Plumb.
The yellow flag flew shortly there after, but the Rum Bum strategy wasn’t dealt a blow as the restart saw Plumb already up to fourth place. After an hour of racing, a final restart with just three minutes to go had Plumb running second, ready to fight the Camaro for the win. But after a few hard-charging laps, it was not meant to be as Plumb finished just .425-seconds adrift of the race winner.
“I was like a terrier with a tennis ball, I saw it and just couldn’t help myself,” said Plumb of the chance for victory. “But they had a strong car and congrats to them. It kills me to not get the win, but they deserve some good fortune. So thanks again to Continental Tire, AST Shocks and Luis Bacardi at home.”
While the final yellow flag once again set the stage for a nail-biter of a finish, Longhi stayed as cool out of the car as he had been inside of it.
“I really don’t worry that much in the car because I have faith in everyone,” said Longhi. “Matt and Joe and everybody on the team. It is just such a good team, I keep saying it over and over again. We knew that we had to be careful, the car was good and it was fast and we were just trying to stay out of trouble, which I almost managed to do. I got put off the road. I was passing another GS car and he literally turned up on me like it was Days of Thunder or something and at that point I almost wrecked on the oval. So to come back from all that and be up on the podium with some good points, everyone is happy and they should be, it was a great effort.”
Rum Bum Racing now holds a 51-point championship advantage as the team travels to Laguna Seca next month for Round 10 of the championship.
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Kansas City, Kan. (16 August 2013) – It may have been a brand new track for Rum Bum Racing as GRAND-AM stages its debut race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, but it was another familiar result for the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche in Friday evening’s 15-minute qualifying session.
Fresh from a race-winning weekend at Road America, Nick Longhi took third on the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge grid.
The event weekend marks the first race for GRAND-AM at the track which utilizes both the oval and road course portions of the circuit. Longhi will open the 2.5-hour race at the controls of the No. 13 Rum Bum Porsche machine before turning the car over to co-driver Matt Plumb to take to the finish as the duo targets a second consecutive victory after having won the previous event held at Road America last weekend.
Longhi’s fast lap time of 1:21.442-seconds around the 2.37-mile roval configuration marks his 16th consecutive top-10 start for Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing.
Rum Bum Racing worked to dial in the car during both Thursday’s test day and Friday’s first official practice in which the team was 10th quick. The Rum Bum squad opted to sit out the second round of practice as both drivers were happy with the handling of the car and felt well-prepared for the evening’s qualifying session.
“We didn’t take the car out during the second session because we were pretty happy with it,” offered Longhi following the qualifying run. “(Crew chief) Joe Varde and the crew did just a fantastic job getting the car ready for this track. It’s part oval, part road course and extremely difficult to get a handle on but Joe Varde just gets it right. We didn’t do a lot of adjusting on the car because Joe just gets it right. The track is a lot of fun. I like the oval – personally I think it’s fun to see how fast you can go on the banking. Our number one priority is scoring points, but having said that, that was our number one priority at Road America too and we still won. We have to be careful and err on the side of caution and just have a good race.”
The team sits at the top of the championships standings with a 54-point advantage and will look to extend their championship lead with another strong outing in Saturday’s SFP Grand Prix at Kansas Speedway.
The race is set to go green at 4:00 PM (ET) on Saturday. Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.grand-am.com. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the event Sunday, August 25 at 3:00 PM (ET).
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