Plumb was among 15 new members who were voted for the honor by current Road Racing Drivers Club members.

Orlando, Fla. – Having scored multiple championships and a category-leading count of race wins, Rum Bum Racing driver and Team Manager Matt Plumb recently earned a new accolade as he was voted into the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) as a member of the 2014 class. Plumb was among 15 new members who were voted for the honor by current Road Racing Drivers Club members.

“This year’s lineup of new Regular Members includes professional racing champions past and present, amateur racing champions, and drivers with stellar racing credentials,” offered RRDC president Bobby Rahal. “And, of course, each driver has demonstrated his or her outstanding conduct on and off the track, a quality the RRDC members take into consideration when voting in new members.”………

To read more visit www.motorsport.com from the link below:

http://www.motorsport.com/imsa/news/rum-bum-racing-s-matt-plumb-voted-into-road-racing-drivers-club/

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Braselton, Ga. (3 October 2014) – Beating the odds in an extremely competitive field, Lu Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing closed out the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship with a third place finish at Road Atlanta on Friday.

Starting in last place due to unfortunate circumstances in qualifying, a combination of gutsy strategy, super-fast pit work, and an ironman performance by Matt Plumb produced a podium finish to end the 2014 season on a positive note.

Crew Chief Joe Varde’s call to pit starting driver Brandon Davis under green on Lap 2 set the team on a strategy that ultimately paid dividends by relying on consistent pace on track and an exceptional set of pit stops by the Rum Bum Racing crew.

“The strength of Rum Bum Racing is knowing that we can rely on the performance of every member and every part of this team” said Team Manager and lead driver Matt Plumb. “It was pretty lonely just putting in the laps early in the race at the back of the field, but unless I’m wrong, we jumped five positions on our first pit stop and six on our second; just a monster performance by our boys. At that point the race was truly on.”

The last 40 minutes turned into one of the most exciting races of the season with exactly the kind of action the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is known for. Through the chaos the familiar yellow and blue No. 13 Porsche emerged to score a third place finish in the race, and hoist the reigning Drivers’ and two-time Team Champions to fourth place in the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Team Championship.

“I’d like to thank all of our fans, supporters, partners, and especially our crew, Joe Varde, and Lu and Jennifer Bacardi for their guidance and support during this past season. It is a such pleasure to work with this awesome group of people, and a privilege to do it with all of our supporters across North America” added Plumb. “We’re already working on 2015 and we can’t wait to get started again in January at Daytona.”

The Road Atlanta event will be televised on Sunday, October 12 at 12:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1.

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Braselton, Ga. (2 October 2014) – Rum Bum Racing will look to move forward in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at Road Atlanta on Friday after some bad luck caught the team out during qualifying on Thursday.

Brandon Davis, who is debuting with Rum Bum Racing this weekend, was all set to wheel the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche around the quick and challenging 2.54-mile road course during Thursday’s 15-minute qualifying session only to have qualifying go under a red flag for nearly the entire session. Unfortunately the squad wasn’t able to get a lap in and will be forced to start the 2.5-hour race from the rear of the field.

Fortunately, Rum Bum Racing is known for its strategy and that, combined with the driving combination of Team Manager and driver Matt Plumb and sportscar veteran Davis, has the team optimistic about Friday’s race.

“It’s been great working with Rum Bum Racing and I thank them for the opportunity to drive this weekend,” said Davis. “Qualifying didn’t go how we wanted it to. The car was really good and it looked like the one lap that we actually started would have put us right up there. But unfortunately when the red flag came out we hadn’t logged a lap yet so we just have to deal with the consequences of that. It might rain tomorrow which I’m fine with. It’s a great car and these Rum Bum guys do a great job. We’ll have a good car for the race and we’ll just work our way forward and go from there.”

The Road Atlanta event will go green at 1:15 PM ET on Friday and will be streamed LIVE on imsa.com. FOX Sports 2 will televise the race on Sunday, October 12 at 12:00 PM ET.

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Orlando, Fla. (29 September 2014) – Every team needs a Closer—the guy that everyone can count on to deliver a big performance right at clutch time. Whether that is the last pitch thrown in the World Series, or the final fish caught to make a winning difference in a tournament, Closers always count.

While many Rum Bum Racing fans might fondly recall the way the team burst on to the racing scene with a big victory in the season-opening race at Daytona in 2010, a look at the team trophy case points to an incredible record of performance in the final race of the season for the Luis Bacardi-owned squad.

The team won the final race of the season in 2010 (Salt Lake City), again in 2011 (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), and then once again in 2012 (Lime Rock Park) to secure the 2012 Championship.

The 2013 season-finale at Lime Rock Park once again saw a big performance as the team scored third place to lock in a second consecutive IMSA Championship.

So heading to the final race of the 2014 IMSA season this Friday at Road Atlanta, Rum Bum Racing will look to once again play the role of closer.

The 2.5-hour race will mark the end of what has been a frustrating season for the team, which despite a cloud of tough racing luck in 2014, saw the group make multiple front-row starts as well as continue to show themselves to be winners. Of the 690 laps that the team has completed so far this year, Rum Bum Racing led over 20% of them.

Rum Bum Racing drivers Matt Plumb and Brandon Davis will share the No. 13 Porsche Rum Bum Racing entry as Davis makes his debut for the squad. Friday’s race will culminate not only a season of racing, but also a busy four-day stretch of on-track practice and preparation. Longhi qualified the Porsche on pole and led the opening 10 laps for this race in 2013 and will look to continue to have a positive impact on the team this weekend.

“We are looking for Lady Luck to return our phone call this weekend!” said Plumb. “Everything has been business as usual this year, but luck has not been on our side. We have continued to elevate our game in the meantime even more than ever, when things do change on the luck front we will capitalize!”

Rum Bum Racing will have a promoter test day on Tuesday, one practice session on Wednesday as well as practice and qualifying sessions on Thursday with the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche ahead of the Friday race, which will last 2.5-hours starting at 1:15 PM ET. The Road Atlanta event will be streamed LIVE via imsa.com and will re-air on FOX Sports 1, Sunday October 12 at 12:00 PM ET.

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Austin, Texas (19 September 2014) – Seven time World Champion and Hall of Fame American sailor Paul Cayard said it best: “When life’s easy anyone can drive, but when it’s tough, the people who excel can make a difference.”

Reigning and two time defending IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Champions Rum Bum Racing lived up to that quote at the Circuit of the Americas round of the 2014 IMSA Championship in Austin, Texas. After record breaking seasons of success with 15 wins, the sheer bad luck that has followed the team in 2014 reared its head again before the green flag even flew. After a great third place qualifying effort by starting driver Hugh Plumb, a freak occurrence saw the engine’s serpentine belt come off on the first pace lap.

Post-race analysis pointed to a piece of debris causing the issue, but this potentially race-ending situation was attacked by the Rum Bum crew who got the car back in the race with a loss of only two laps, an amazing performance in itself. In very difficult weather conditions, the team clawed back to a 14th place finish on pure speed and determination.

Consistently the fastest car for the final hour of the race, lead driver Matt Plumb caught and passed the entire field including the overall leader, to get one of the two laps back. Crew Chief Joe Varde needed only one caution period for his one-stop strategy to play out and get the fan-favorite number 13 Porsche 911 back in contention for the win, but unusually for this series, that caution never came.

“That was one of the most challenging races I’ver ever driven” said Matt Plumb of his final stint. “There were a half dozen different ‘climates’ from corner to corner. It would be light drizzle, totally dry, then pouring rain in different places shifting around the track. I had some great coaching from our spotter MHP which was a huge help in those conditions”.

“What happened on the pace lap was completely unpredictable, just a continuation of the odd run of luck we have had this season” said Rum Bum Racing Technical Director Nick Longhi. “There is nothing anybody can do about it. Apart from that, and looking at what we could actually affect, the performance of the team today was stellar. By the numbers, we were in contention for the win, just a great effort from an exceptional group of people, from Lu Bacardi on down. When our luck comes back we’re going an a tear because every member on this team is looking for blood.”

Rum Bum Racing next travels to Road Atlanta in two weeks for the final race of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. Brandon Davis will join Matt Plumb in the No. 13 Porsche for the season-finale event.

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Austin, Texas (18 September 2014) – The Rum Bum Racing No. 13 Porsche will start from the second row of the grid at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Friday following Thursday afternoon’s 15-minute qualifying session. Hugh Plumb turned a fast lap time of 2:23.211-seconds around the challenging 3.4-mile road course to take third on the 52-car combined class grid.

Hugh Plumb will open the 2.5-hour IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race before handing the controls over to his brother and co-driver Matt Plumb who will take the car to the finish. Having placed fourth in last year’s debut race at COTA after starting third, Rum Bum Racing looks to take its first Circuit of the Americas podium with a positive outing in Friday’s race.

The No. 13 Porsche rolled off of the trailer and was immediately quick as the team posted the quickest time during the first practice held under warm and slightly wet track conditions. Rum Bum Racing then posted the fifth quickest time of the second practice which was held under hot and sticky weather conditions as the Rum Bum squad prepared for the 15-minute qualifying run.

“It’s great to be able to put the Rum Bum Porsche right up at the front,” said Hugh Plumb. “Thanks to the Bacardis and all the guys at Rum Bum for giving me a great car. And of course to my brother Matt who I expect to bring it home and put us right at the front at the end of the race. The car was good. I only had a couple of laps and it says something about the team, for me to be able to just get in the car and put it up front. So I thank them and the Bacardi family the most.Tomorrow we’ll just try to keep it clean and keep it at the front.”

With rain in the forecast for Friday’s race, the event could be an interesting one with different strategies put into play.

After some bad racing luck in the previous two events, the 2012 & 2013 GS Champions would like nothing more than to return to the podium at such an iconic circuit as the Circuit of the Americas.

The 2.5-hour race is set to go green at 12:20PM Central Time and will be streamed LIVE on imsa.com. Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates throughout the race!

The COTA event will be televised on FOX Sports 1 Sunday, September 28 at 12:00 PM ET.

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New Driver Line-ups for COTA and Road Atlanta

Orlando, Fla. (16 September 2014) – The saying is that “everything is bigger in Texas,” and this weekend, that describes the size of the ambition for Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing as the team has big plans for the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race as part of the big Lone Star Le Mans event at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

With championship titles in 2012 and 2013, Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing enters the race weekend as the defending IMSA champions. But for Rum Bum Racing fans, the 2014 season has been far from satisfying as the team has suffered a streak of foul racing fortunes so far this year.

But with a few weeks to regroup, the team is fresh and focused ahead of the visit to the spectacular Circuit of the Americas just outside of Austin, Texas. The 3.4-mile circuit, which also plays host to Formula 1, Moto GP, and World Endurance Championship events, is an audacious mix of long flat out straight-aways and a series of challenging, technical switchbacks, with a pair of big braking hairpins in the mix for good measure.

The track is one the team knows well, having qualified third and finished fourth at the circuit in 2013.

This weekend will see a new look as Rum Bum Racing driver Nick Longhi, who has been with the team since the drop of the first green flag at Daytona in 2010 and was part of every one of the team’s 15 victories either as spotter or driver, will graduate from the cockpit to the pit stand as he focuses on an engineering role for the team at the Lone Star Le Mans event.

“The win ratio that Matt (Plumb) and I have had as co-drivers is arguably the best in GS history, and that’s all because we are a team,” said Longhi. “Whatever each individual has to do at any given time, we do, with the common goal of success. The last time I made this type of shift it resulted in winning the 2010 and 2012 IMSA GT Championships, and I’m 100% focused on optimizing the total team effort that Lu (Bacardi), Matt (Plumb), Joe (Varde), and all of us at Rum Bum Racing are all about.”

Returning to the Rum Bum Racing squad for the weekend will be Hugh Plumb, who will take on the qualifying and opening-stint driving duties this weekend before turning the car over to one of the category’s winningest drivers Matt Plumb. Hugh Plumb raced for Rum Bum Racing earlier this year at Daytona International Speedway in which he and co-driver Kaz Grala finished fourth.

“We are all looking forward to the Texas weekend,” said driver and Rum Bum Racing Team Manager Matt Plumb. “It will be a different look for us, with Nick (Longhi) working on the technical director side and Hugh (Plumb) jumping in to drive for us like he did with Kaz (Grala) earlier this year. We aren’t a factor in this year’s championship unfortunately, but it gives us the chance to use all of our resources to put ourselves in the best position to win these last two races. We are fortunate to have the kind of caliber of guys that we do with Nick (Longhi), Joe (Varde, crew chief), and Hugh (Plumb), and hopefully this drives us to that point where we can be fighting for wins and championships again.”

Utilizing different driver combinations in the final two races of the 2014 season, 2009 World Challenge GT champion Brandon Davis will drive alongside Plumb in the final race of the year at Road Atlanta. Davis comes to the team with loads of sports car experience with a long list of racing accomplishments that include becoming the 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American State Champion, as well as the 2005 World Challenge Rookie of the Year.

The Circuit of the Americas race weekend will open with two practice sessions on Thursday ahead of a 15-minute qualifying session which is set to begin at 6:00 PM ET. The 2.5-hour race will begin at 1:20 PM ET and will be streamed LIVE on imsa.com.

The race will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, September 28 at 12:00 PM ET.

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Alton, Va. (23 August 2014) – Rum Bum Racing had been hoping to turn the team’s luck around in Round 10 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship at Virginia International Raceway on Saturday, but the team faced disappointment when the group was forced to retire the No. 13 Porsche just a few laps into the race.

Drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb and the Rum Bum Racing squad improved the No. 13 Porsche throughout the weekend’s practice sessions and looked to convert that momentum into a positive result in Saturday’s 2.5-hour race. Longhi was the quickest Porsche in Friday’s qualifying and opened the race from 13th on the grid, eager to move forward.

Longhi wasted no time maneuvering his way up as he moved into 10th on just the first lap. Unfortunately that forward progression came to a halt just three laps after an error in shifting caused irreversible damage to the Porsche powerplant, ending the day early for the defending championship squad.

“It’s such a shame because it doesn’t represent the time and effort everybody at Rum Bum Racing puts into this,” said Plumb, who serves as both driver and Team Manager for Rum Bum Racing. “We just have to keep moving forward. We can’t give up. We’re not going to throw in the towel. It’s tough. These guys don’t deserve it and our owner Luis Bacardi doesn’t deserve it. So we’ll rebound and get things back on track and figure out where we go from here.”

Rum Bum Racing next travels to Circuit of the Americas for Round 11 of the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship on September 19 & 20.

The VIR event will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, August 31 at 10:00 AM ET

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Orlando, Fla. (19 August 2014) – Following two frustrating race outings in which the team showed strong pace only to be caught out by bad racing luck, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing and drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi are ready to rebound this weekend as the 2012 & 2013 defending IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge champions travel to VIRginia International Raceway for Round 10 of the 2014 Championship.

It’s been three years since IMSA last visited the popular and classic 3.27-mile Virginia road course that features 17 turns. Rum Bum debuted at the track in 2010 with the squad’s No. 13 BMW M3 and scored the team’s second podium of the season in just its first year of competition as Plumb’s then co-driver Gian Bacardi sprayed the podium champagne with a third place finish.

This year, Rum Bum Racing brings its No. 13 Porsche machine to VIR and Plumb is joined by veteran sportscar racer Longhi. The duo has combined for 14 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge victories and would like nothing more than to add to that tally this weekend at VIR as the championship hunt continues with just three races remaining on the 2014 schedule.

Entering the weekend with 198 points in the championship following two challenging race weekends, Rum Bum Racing will look to erase the memories of a motor issue in Indianapolis and a mechanical issue at Road America that took the team from the lead with just minutes left to go in the race.

“We knew coming into this championship this year that the competition would be fierce,” said Team Manager and driver Plumb, who won at the track in 2008. “It’s been even more of an uphill battle with the car having to carry the IMSA weight, but we’ve been able to pull some rabbits out of our hats with strategy calls and just hitting our marks as a team. So we’ve stayed in the hunt all year long and we’re still fighting. We took two tough hits at Indy and Road America but this team doesn’t get down. We immediately went back to work and began focusing on VIR. We know what we have to do from here on out and we’ll do our absolute best to get the best results possible in these final three races.”

Since IMSA’s last visit to VIR, the track has been resurfaced as well as widened in several areas. The updates are expected to provide even better and more exciting racing as the field of 20 GS and 24 ST class machines take to the track for the Oak Tree Grand Prix.

Rum Bum Racing will have a promoter test day on Thursday as well as two practice sessions on Friday to dial in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche on the renovated circuit. A 15-minute qualifying session will take place Friday evening at 5:10 PM ET. The 2.5-hour race is set to go green on Saturday at 2:05 PM ET.

The race will be carried LIVE on IMSA.com and will re-air on FOX Sports 1 Sunday, August 31 at 10:00 AM ET.

Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates! As always, live timing and scoring is available throughout the weekend at www.imsa.com.

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Elkhart Lake, Wis. (9 August 2014) – In a day that saw Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing team fight hard from the back of the pack all the way up to lead the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in the closing laps on Saturday, the stars did not align for the Rum Bum squad as a ball joint failure took the team out while running third with three laps to go.

It was a heartbreaking day for the team and its drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi who had been welcomed to the classic Road America circuit by a large contingent of Rum Bum Racing fans – family and friends of Jennifer Bacardi who calls Wisconsin home. A brilliant effort by the team came up just a few laps short of taking a fourth consecutive podium finish at the 4-mile road course.

Longhi opened the race from the fourth row and moved up to seventh in his stint, which included a longer yellow flag period for a multi-car crash in the ST category before opening a long green flag run. Longhi pitted the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 40 minutes into the 2.5-hour race for fuel, tires and a driver change as he handed the car over to Plumb to take to the checkered flag.

As Plumb took to the track, the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche was not handling perfectly and he took to pit road with 1 hour and 25 minutes remaining for the crew to check out the car. The crew topped off the No. 13 with fuel and upon returning to the fray, Plumb ran 18th in line.

When a full course caution was displayed with an hour remaining, Plumb ran 16th and crew chief Joe Varde called him to pit lane for fuel and left side tires. The strategy call to take left side tires as well as a perfectly executed stop by the Rum Bum crew saw the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche leapfrog up the order to run second at the restart.

“I come out and they tell me I’m in second – it was crazy,” said Plumb. “But I’ve come to expect this from these guys because when we have issues when things go wrong, everybody just gets together and gets it done.”

The field went back to green with 40 minutes remaining and veteran sportscar racer Plumb pounced in Turn 3 to take over the race lead. As a gaggle of cars behind fought for position, Plumb was able to extend a one-second gap over the field.

A third full course yellow came out just laps later and as Plumb led the field back to green with 25 minutes to go, the No. 13 Porsche was at the disadvantage with the big V8 engined muscle cars in hot pursuit.

Making the most of his track position and momentum, as well as car placement, Plumb fought to hold on to the point.

Both the Rum Bum team and the fans in attendance were on the edge of their seats in what turned out to be a brilliant battle for the lead as Plumb eventually had to give way to the high-horsepower machine.

Despite losing the lead, it looked like Rum Bum Racing would once again taste the spray of champagne on the podium at Road America but it was not meant to be when the ball joint failure presented itself in the final laps.

“Every day that I’m out on a racetrack doing this for a living is fun, so I have to keep that in perspective,” said Plumb. “But not being able to hold position while you’re out there is terribly frustrating. Because you want to do well for the team, the fans, the owners, everybody. We did everything we could to finish well today. We had great pit stops, our driving was good – Nick’s pace was good. But it just is what it is. The good and the bad of the whole thing was – the bad was that we didn’t finish the race due to a part failure. But the good was hopefully from the outside it was incredibly entertaining and it was worth it for everyone that came out and for all of the Bacardi fans and guests here this weekend.”

“The team is just phenomenal,” echoed Longhi. “I just can’t say enough about this team. They never get down, they always keep pushing, no matter the circumstances. It’s frustrating not to have the outright pace to keep up with the Camaros but we did the best we could today and that’s all you can ask for. A big thanks to Luis and Jennifer Bacardi and all of our Rum Bum fans for their support here this weekend.”

Rum Bum Racing will next travel to VIRginia International Raceway August 22-23 for Round 10 of the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.-

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Orlando, Fla. (5 August 2014) – Road America is a classic and historic road course and is considered by many to be the best venue for road racing in North America. For Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing and its drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb, the track is a favorite on the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race schedule – and not just because it is one at which Rum Bum has been particularly successful.

In three years of competing at the 4-mile iconic Road America circuit, Rum Bum’s Longhi and Plumb have stood on the podium every time. The group won the previous two events at the track while competing in the GRAND-AM Series and will go for three in a row on Saturday. Last year’s race came down to fuel strategy and a brilliant call from crew chief Joe Varde saw the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche take the victory on fumes.

The 2013 Road America win helped the team to secure the IMSA Championship title last year and the group hopes that another positive result at the Wisconsin road course will add to the team’s championship pursuit this year.

As the 2012 & 2013 IMSA GS Champions, Rum Bum Racing knows what it takes to win the title. While outright pace is important, many races are often won by good strategy – which is something Rum Bum Racing is known for. A venerable group of team members combine to provide a championship caliber platform.

Rum Bum Racing has been a championship contender all season long, but the squad took a hit in the previous Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge outing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Engine troubles took the No. 13 car out early leaving Rum Bum unable to collect the highly valuable and sought after championship points.

The Florida-based team now sits third in the championship, 30 points out of the lead. A third consecutive Road America victory would be a welcome championship boost as the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge enters its final run of four races.

“It was a very big setback in the championship for us to score nothing in Indy, but we’ve seen this thing go down to the wire every year so the last thing we are doing is calling it done,” said Plumb. “With Road America being pretty much a second home for this team, there is no better place to get back on the good-luck train. Jennifer (Bacardi) has so many friends and family that come out for the weekend, it’s always a lot of fun. Hopefully we can have the same kind of race results we’ve had there before, as we will need to go ‘all in’ for every race from here on out and just see where things land.”

Rum Bum Racing has extra incentive to win at Road America as the team travels to Jennifer Bacardi’s home state. Longhi and Plumb are always welcomed with a large contingent of Rum Bum family, friends, and fans at the track who would love nothing more than to celebrate in Road America victory lane for the third consecutive year.

It will be a quick two-day race event for Rum Bum Racing who will take part in two practice sessions as well as qualifying on Friday. The 2.5-hour Continental Tire Road Race Showcase goes green Saturday at 12:15 PM Central Time and can be viewed LIVE on www.imsa.com.

The race will be televised on Sunday, August 17 at 12:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1.

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INDIANAPOLIS (25 July 2014) – Rum Bum Racing had been hoping to kiss the bricks at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday as the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge visited the iconic track for Round 8 of the championship, but instead, the team was kissed with bad luck with a disappointing race weekend at the Brickyard.

The Florida-based squad unloaded off the trailer with confidence for the quick two-day event with drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longi, the defending IMSA champions. Thursday saw two practice sessions ahead of qualifying and the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche posted the seventh and eighth quickest times of the sessions, respectively.

Looking to secure a solid starting spot for the race around the Brickyard in qualifying Thursday afternoon, the No. 13 Porsche was unable to complete a flying lap due to contact early in the session. The damage was enough to keep the car from making a qualifying run and the team went to work Thursday night to make repairs.

Longhi was ready to make big moves through the field in Friday’s 2.5-hour race before turning the car over to Plumb, but unfortunately the race day ended early for the team. After just one lap of running, the motor on the No. 13 let go and Longhi was forced to pull the car off track.

“First off, a shout out to our friend Jackie who is battling a health issue, I’m sorry we were not able to entertain her longer today and we are out so early,” said Plumb, who serves as both driver and Team Manager for Rum Bum Racing. “This is tough. Luck is a funny thing—when you’ve got it, you’ve got it. But we’ve been in a rough patch the last two races. It’s hard, the Rum Bum guys rebuilt the car after the incident at Mosport to be ready for this weekend and then after the incident in qualifying, we had to put a lot of work into the car again so this is really disappointing. I hate it for Luis (Bacardi) and for all the effort this team has put in. But we’ll be ready to go again for Jennifer’s (Bacardi) home race and really will be looking to get back on the good luck train up there.”

Rum Bum Racing next heads to Road America in two weeks and the 2012 & 2013 championship-winning team will look to go for its third consecutive win at the historic road course.

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Orlando, Fla. (23 July 2014) – Racing at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway is always special, but for Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing, nothing would be more special than kissing the Speedways’ famous bricks with a victory in Friday’s Brickyard Sports Car Challenge (fans can watch live atwww.imsa.com).

Since debuting in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in 2010, Rum Bum Racing has amassed 25 podium results – including 15 wins – on 13 different circuits. But one place the team has yet to experience the sweet spray of champagne is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb would love nothing more than to change that fact as the duo are set to once again share the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche in Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix.

Rum Bum Racing currently sits second in the championship standings just six points out of the lead. And with just five more races on the 2014 schedule, positive performances through the rest of the season will be key to winning the organization’s third consecutive IMSA championship title.

When the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in 2012, Rum Bum Racing finished a disappointing 12th after being hit hard by another competitor late in the race. Last year, the group rallied to a fifth place finish after an ill-timed caution period followed a pit stop and caught the team out. Despite the setback, the team fought back to a fifth place finish.

While both Longhi and Plumb have experience on the Indianapolis road course, this year’s race sees the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge field take on a slightly reconfigured circuit as all the teams will be looking to learn the new course and quickly get up to speed.

“The team did a great job to turn the car around from Mosport after we got tangled up in that last lap crash,” said Plumb. “We’ve had mixed luck here at the Speedway so hopefully we can stay out of trouble and bring home some more points. It’s a new track in a way with the revised layout, so Nick and I are eager to get out there and see what we can learn in practice for the race.”

Over the previous seven races this year, Rum Bum Racing has remained a championship contender with six top-10 results to their credit which included a win at Lime Rock Park and a third place podium finish at Watkins Glen. Plumb and Longhi have established themselves as leading players in the Championship, with the Rum Bum squad also having proved to be one that can never be counted out.

As the team looks for valuable points toward the championship, a win at Indy would position the squad well for the final run of four races.

Rum Bum Racing will take part in two practice sessions on Thursday ahead of qualifying which takes place at 3:30 PM ET. The Brickyard Sports Car Challenge will go green at 2:35 PM ET on Friday and will be streamed LIVE on IMSA.com.

Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend. Live timing and scoring can be found at www.imsa.com.

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Bowmanville, Ontario (12 July 2014) – When Rum Bum Racing entered Round 7 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the team knew it had its work cut out for them.

But Rum Bum Racing was ready to rise to the challenge and used the typically prudent Joe Varde strategy to the best of their ability in order to make up ground in the race. The team’s strategy nearly worked out perfectly for the Rum Bum Racing squad, but an ill-timed caution period saw the team unable to capitalize on track position. The group came home ninth in the end, but not for lack of effort.

Nick Longhi started the race from 14th on the grid and moved up to 11th during the opening run as he kept the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche clean through the traffic of 47 cars on track. When the strategy call came for Longhi to pit just 37 minutes into the race, he took to pit road for a routine stop of fuel and fresh sticker Continental Tires, and handed the car over to Matt Plumb.

Plumb emerged 20th in the order and a lap down to the leaders. Right on the tail of the second place Camaro of Matt Bell, Plumb drove hard in an attempt to get his lap back. Unfortunately, the race went under full course caution before Plumb could work his way ahead of the leading Camaro machines and he was forced to wait for the “wave by” under the caution which would return him to the lead lap.

Once the No. 13 Porsche was allowed to pass the pace car and return to the lead lap under yellow, the race was about to go back to green. Plumb hustled the Porsche to its limits as he tried to catch back up to the rear end of the GS field, but the race went green while he was still among the ST class field in 18th place in class.

Plumb steadily worked his way forward through a green flag run and pitted with 54 minutes remaining in the race for left side tires and fuel. He returned to the track 15th in line in need of a yellow flag to bunch the field back up.
That full course caution came with 50 minutes to go and Varde radioed to the team that they were “back in the ball game.” Once several of the other competitors had made their final pit stops under the yellow, Plumb found himself restarting from the ninth position. The race went back to green for about seven minutes and Plumb had worked his way forward into the seventh position before another full course caution slowed the field.

A final restart came with less than 20 minutes to go and as Plumb fought for race pace, he slotted into eighth through the final laps. It looked like Plumb would take eighth at the checkered flag until contact just ahead of the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche in the final corner saw the Porsche machine hit from the side and forced into the inside concrete wall. Plumb limped the damaged car across the finish line to earn ninth place points.

“I came out (after the first pit stop) a lap down on four sticker tires and I couldn’t get by the Camaros who were racing on 40-lap old tires, so that was a bit depressing I have to admit,” said Plumb. “We’re fighting an uphill battle right now, but we’re trying to just get as many points as possible as we can right now. We’re still in this championship and we’re going to fight hard in every race from here on out. Joe Varde always has the right strategy calls and today we just got a bit unlucky. But we’ll go on to the next one and work just as hard as we did this weekend.”

“Had there not been that ill-timed yellow, we were looking pretty good,” added Longhi. “Matt (Plumb) drove the wheels off of the car. We just tried to minimize the damage in the uphill battle we have with the rules and the extra weight of the car. The Rum Bum team performed flawlessly today and we did the best we could with what we had.”

Rum Bum Racing will be back in race action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks. The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park event will be televised on FOX Sports 1 Sunday, July 20 at 10:00 AM ET.

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Orlando, Fla. (8 July 2014) – Fresh from a well-fought podium finish at Watkins Glen, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing will return to IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge competition as the team is set to make its first-ever race start at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this Saturday. Drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi will share the driving duties in the IMSA championship-leading No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 911 as the series stages Round 7 of the 2014 championship.

The track, long known as “Mosport” ahead of its recent revival and rejuvenation under a new ownership group, is a 2.5-mile natural terrain circuit set some two hours outside of Toronto with some blazing speeds and dauntingly quick corners. While the visit to the venerable facility is the first for Rum Bum Racing as a group, the team has a deep roster of experience at the track that the championship squad will look to convert into another stout points performance North of the border.

After not having the outright pace to race to the front of the pack, the Watkins Glen round saw Rum Bum Racing pull a page out of their playbook to use an alternate fuel strategy to move the car up to third at the finish. The result sees the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche now locked into a tie for the championship lead as the team looks to score an unprecedented third consecutive team title.

While the weekend is the first visit to the track for the team, the drivers have both seen many laps and some champagne showers to boot, with Longhi having raced everything from Porsches to Mustangs in Speedvision Cup to Rolex Sports Car Series competition through the years.

Plumb also brings a winning pedigree to the event, having taken a victory in World Challenge competition at the track as well as scoring an IMSA Continental Tire podium in 2008. Rum Bum Racing scored its second-ever (on the way to 15 so far) victory in 2010 when the IMSA category raced at Trois-Rivieres, and will look to make the Canadian venture another successful one.

“It has been a while since we raced at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park—so long that it was called something else the last time we were there!” joked Plumb. “It’s a very fun track for the drivers and an equally big challenge to get the most out of every lap. Getting back to the podium at the Glen was down to the genius of Joe (Varde) more than anything else and it would be great to keep this momentum up after winning at Lime Rock and then a podium the last two races. We know that we’ve got to take whatever we can points-wise out of every weekend so that’s the goal again for this weekend.”

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Watkins Glen, N.Y. (28 June 2014) – It was another big day for Rum Bum Racing at Watkins Glen International on Saturday as the team captured its third consecutive IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge podium at the 3.4-mile upstate New York road course.

Through a mix of strategy, teamwork and drivers’ Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi strong performance in the No. 13 Porsche, Rum Bum Racing took third when the checkered flag flew on the Continental Tire 150 at the Glen. The result marks the third consecutive top four finish for the championship-defending team.

Longhi opened the race from the fourth row after qualifying seventh on the 59 car combined class grid. Fortunately, the forward starting position allowed Longhi to avoid a multi-car incident which took place behind him as soon as the green flag waved. Debris littered the front straightaway and a long clean up kept the race from starting in earnest for nearly half an hour.

When the field went back to green, the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche ran eighth and moved up to seventh where Longhi would run through the remainder of his stint. Crew Chief Joe Varde took advantage of a second full course caution period with about 50 minutes completed. The team delivered a perfect pit stop and Longhi handed the car over to Plumb who re-entered the track 22nd in line. But he soon found himself back in podium contention as pit stops cycled through and he restarted fifth.

Plumb worked his way into third position and continued to run there through a longer green flag run as he fought to keep up with the outright track-record-setting pace of the Camaros. A final routine pit stop saw Plumb emerge from pit lane 18th in line, but as all cars made their final stops he made his way back into the top-five.

In the final laps, Plumb slotted into fourth as he began to gain on third place. With just three minutes to go in the 2.5-hour race, the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche took over third with cheers erupting from the Rum Bum pit box. Despite the speed disadvantage to the Camaros, the championship-winning team’s preparation and strategy saw Rum Bum Racing rise to the challenge.

“That was a total team effort once again,” said Longhi. “This podium was done on strategy and the experience from Joe (Varde) and the crew. It was flawless execution. As you can see from the lap times, the Camaros and Nissans were outright faster. So to be on the podium is fantastic but it’s 100% because of the team and the quality of every team member. There was nothing we could do on the racetrack. Very good points day for us, so it was a great day.”

“We knew from the moment we arrived at the Glen that we didn’t have the fastest car due to the track layout and certainly the forward adjustments on some other cars but all we had to do was finish ahead of those guys,” said Plumb. “We knew we had to run a clean and smart race. I had to run qualifying laps to keep up with the Camaros and luckily I was able to get close enough to draft a little bit.”

The third place result also was a welcome boost in the championship as the two teams ahead of Rum Bum Racing in the standings suffered setbacks at the Glen.

“I hate to move ahead in the championship based off of their misfortunes – if it had not been for that, we would have been in a little bit of trouble,” said Plumb. “But through strategy and consistency we were able to stay out there.”

Rum Bum Racing next heads to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in two weeks for Round 8 of the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

The Continental Tire 150 at the Glen will air on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, July 6 at 10:00 AM.

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