HOMESTEAD, Fla.—Rum Bum Racing’s Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb started in last place in Saturday’s Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Kia 200; two-and-a-half hours later, they were taking their second checkered flag in as many races in the #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche, having come through the 67-car field with focused driving, amazing pit work, smart set-up, and great luck with the weather.
This was Rum Bum’s second win in their new Porsche 911, which replaced the BMW the team had been using . The first came at the Barber 200 in March—the first race with the new car. The second win at Homestead came in front of many friends and sponsors of the Miami-based team, including team owner Luis Bacardi.
Nick Longhi qualified the #13 Rum Bum Porsche on the pole, setting a new lap record while doing it. Unfortunately during tech inspection it turned out that the car’s rear wing was minutely outside the rules; Plumb and Longhi were relegated to last place for the start of the race. This meant that thirty-six GS-class cars stood be between the Rum Bum team and victory.
As Matt Plumb put it, “The good news is that the Speedway has a lot of passing zones—and we were blessed with a lot o f rain to start with.”
