Rum Bum Racing Previews the Continental Tire Festival in Monterey

Rum Bum Racing Previews the Continental Tire Festival in Monterey

Salinas, Calif. (5 July 2011) – Rum Bum Racing drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi are eager to return to GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend following a strong performance at Road America when the pair started the No. 13 BMW M3 on the pole and went on to earn a spot on the podium with a third place result.

In Round 8 of the championship, Rum Bum Racing marks its first Continental Tire GS start at the 2.238-mile California road course as GRAND-AM last visited the circuit in 2009. Although Plumb and Longhi have not yet raced the No. 13 BMW at the 11-turn road course, both drivers have years of experience at the track under their belts.

With laps in some very impressive machinery at the track, Longhi has also competed in Rolex Sports Car Series GT competition in everything from a Porsche GT3 Cup machine to the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, most recently netting a top-10 result with a ninth place finish at the track in 2008.

With a dominating win in the Barber Dodge Pro Series ranks at the track on his way up the motorsports ladder, Plumb has competed in both the Rolex Series GT (2005) and Daytona Prototype (2008) classes at the Laguna Seca circuit.

That most recent visit to the track in 2008 was a harrowing one, as Plumb escaped a fire following a spectacular on-track incident. Plumb will look to make this weekend a more positive one with another strong run at the front of the field.

Rum Bum Racing has delivered dominant performances throughout the first seven races of the season to place within the top-10 in all but two races – highlighted with victories at Daytona and Lime Rock Park. Longhi has qualified the No. 13 among the top-10 on the starting grid in all but one race this year and will look for the team’s fourth pole of the year this weekend.

“The Rum Bum guys have done a great job of setting up the No. 13 BMW and it has certainly shown in the strong performances we’ve had so far this year,” said Longhi. “I always love racing at Laguna Seca. It’s a great track with it’s own very unique challenges, and I’m really looking forward to going back.”

With the third place finish at Road America, Rum Bum Racing is now fourth in the Team Championship standings. Just 35 points out of the top spot, the team will look to capitalize this weekend and gain maximum points at the natural terrain road course.

“Laguna Seca is such a fantastic track, and we are hoping that we’ll be able to dial in the M3 quickly,” said Plumb. “Laguna really rewards strong handling cars and of course our braking is good, too, so hopefully that plays into our hands. We are all a little frustrated from Road America–we had the car to win but that long yellow at the end of the race prevented us from getting to the top step of the podium. But it’s great to have the chance to get back to the track and make up for that this weekend. Hopefully we have another strong run and make up as many points as possible in the championship.”

Rum Bum Racing will participate in a promoter test day on Thursday, July 7. Official practice and qualifying will take place on Friday with the 2.5-hour race set to begin on Saturday, July 9 at 10:45 AM local time.

The event will air July 17 at 1:00 PM (ET) on SPEED.

www.rumbumracing.com
You can also follow the team here: www.facebook.com/rumbumracing

-30-

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, http://sundaygroupblog.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup