Fourth Win of the Season for Rum Bum Racing

Matt Plumb took the lead on lap 43 following a restart with 45 minutes remaining and led the rest of the way to lead Saturday’s Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen International. It was the second consecutive victory for Plumb and Nick Longhi in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche Carrera, and their fourth of the season. The two drivers also took over the Grand Sport points lead over David Empringham and John Farano, who finished third in the No. 83 BGB Motorsports Porsche Carrera).

Lawson Aschenbach made repeated efforts on the final lap to take the lead, but wound up .318 seconds short in the No. 01 CKS Autosport Chevrolet Camaro started by Eric Curran.

The ST race saw a major shift in the points battle. Michael Valiante and Chad Gilsinger scored his second victory in three races for the No. 93 HART Honda Civic Si, but Pierre Kleinubing went from second to first in the standings as many of his top rivals for the title had problems. Kleinubing, who won the season opener, finished second in the No. 31 i-MOTO Mazda Speed 3 started by Tom Dyer. Meanwhile, former leaders Andy Lally and Nic Jonsson had problems in the No. 10 Kia, while the next three pairings in the standings also had problems to give Kleinubing a 25-point lead in the unofficial standings after enteriung the event trailing by one point.

 

Saturday, June 30, 2012 – Second-Half Race Report

 

4:20-5:35 p.m.

 

Notes:

 

§  4:23 p.m. – Billy Johnson (No. 61 Ford Mustang) leads Lawson Aschenbach (No. 01 Camaro), by 0.796 seconds.

 

§  4:25 p.m. – John Weisberg (No. 40 Porsche Boxster) spins to driver’s left exiting Turn 9, is able to continue. … Matt Plumb (No. 13 Porsche Carrera) pits.

 

§  4:28 p.m. – Pierre Kleinubing (No. 31 Mazda Speed 3) takes over ST lead, followed by Michael Valiante (No. 93 Honda Civic) and Gunnar Jeannette (No. 15 Ford Focus).

 

§  4:29 p.m. – Top two drivers pit, Billy Johnson (No. 61 Mustang) and No. 01 Lawson Aschenbach (No. 01 Camaro), lead to Robert Stout (No. 08 Porsche), followed by Shelby Blackstock (No. 51 Mustang) and Mike Skeen (No. 14 Nissan.).

 

§  4:31 p.m. – Shelby Blackstock (No. 51 Mustang) and David Empringham (No. 83 Porsche) pit.

 

§  4:33 p.m. – Lead change, Mike Skeen (No. 14 Nissan) takes over from Robert Stout (No. 08 Camaro). … Tom Long (No. 25 Mazda) spins after contact with Jason Saini (No. 03 Mazda) in Turn 8, is able to continue. … Saini gets stop-and-go penalty for the contact.

 

§  4:37 p.m. – Lap 34 – Michael Valiante (No. 93 Nissan) takes ST lead from Pierre Kleinubing (No. 31 Mazda), followed by Gunnar Jeannette (No. 15 Ford). … Nick Mancuso (No. 16 Ford) pits.

 

§  4:40 p.m. – Lap 36 – Mike Skeen (No. 14 Nissan) now leads Robert Stout (No. 08 Porsche) by 8.568 seconds.

 

§  4:42 -.m. – Lap 37 – Race leader Mike Skeen (No. 14 Nissan) in the pits, routine. … Lead to Robert Stout (No. 08 Porsche, followed by Andrew Aquilante (No. 35 Subaru) and Gunter Schaldach (No. 6 Camaro).

 

§  4:44 p.m. – Lap 38 – FULL COURSE CAUTION – Mike Skeen (No. 14 Nissan) is collected by Chris Brown (No. 65 BMW). Brown spun in Turn 6, and pulled away into the path of Skeen, who had nowhere to go. … Brown and Skeen are taken to the infield care center, where they are both evaluated and released.

 

§  4:48 p.m. – Lap 39 – Billy Johnson (No. 61 Mustang) pits, fuel only. … Johnson will get stop-and-go plus 20 second penalty for pitting out of sequence. … Nic Jonsson (No. 10 Kia) returns to the race after repairs in the garage.

 

§  4:51 p.m. – Lap 40 – Top two GS cars pit, Robert Stout (No. 08 Porsche) and Andrew Aquilante (No. 35 Subaru), lead to Gunter Schaldach (No. 6 Camaro), followed by JF Dumoulin (No. 38 Porsche) and Matt Plumb (No. 13 Porsche).

 

§  4:58 p.m. – Lap 42 – GREEN FLAG, Gunter Schaldach (No. 6 Camaro) holds off charge by Matt Plumb (No. 13 Porsche), who attempted to go from third to first in Turn 1. … Plumb manages to take the lead in the Esses. … David Empringham (No. 83 Porsche) takes second from Schaldach in the Inner Loop. … Charles Espenlaub (No. 48 BMW) bumped off course after side-by-side contact, is able to continue.

 

§  5:02 p.m. – Lap 43 – FULL COURSE CAUTION, Rich Jones (No. 37 Ford Mustang) is stopped in the Inner Loop.

 

§   … Aleks Altberg (No. 171 VW) comes to stop in Inner Loop, is able to get moving but loses positions. The Road America ST winner was running seventh.

 

§  5:09 p.m. – Lap 46 – GREEN FLAG with 28 minutes remaining. … Billy Johnson (No. 61 Mustang) is running 19th after serving penalty for pitting out of sequence.

 

§  5:12 p.m. – Lap 47 – Jeff Mosing (No. 56 BMW) pulls off course in safe location, was running eighth in ST.

 

§  5:15 p.m. – Lap 49 – Bryan Sellers (No. 46 BMW) passes Gunter Schaldach (No. 6 Camaro) for fifth. … Sellers has run strong in all practice sessions this weekend. … Nic Jonsson (No. 10 Kia) has hood come up over windshield, continues slowly to pits.

 

§   5:18 p.m. – Lap 50 – Matt Plumb (No. 13 Porsche) leads David Empringham (No. 83 Porsche) by 2.010 seconds. … Andrew Carbonell (No. 26 Mazda) loses left-rear wheel.

 

§  5:22 p.m. — Lap 52 – Billy Johnson (No. 61 Mustang) pits while running 18th.

 

§  5:24 p.m. – Lap 53 – Jordan Bupp (No. 7 Mustang) spins at the exit of Turn 9.

 

§  5:25 p.m. – FULL COURSE CAUTION to retrieve Jordan Bupp. … Bill Auberlen (No. 96 BMW) is running ninth but has badly damaged bodywork. … Billy Johnson (No. 61 Mustang) gets third penalty of the race.

 

§  5:32 p.m. – Lap 56 – GREEN FLAG with less than five minutes remaining (approximately three laps).

 

§  5:35 p.m. – Lap 57 – David Empringham (No. 83 Porsche) pressuring Lawson Aschenbach (No. 01 Camaro) for second. … Scott Maxwell (No. 55 Aston Martin) pulls off at exit of Turn 9, was running eighth.

 

§  5:37 p.m. – Lap 58 – WHITE FLAG for Matt Plumb. … Bill Auberlen running eighth but ignores black flag for damaged bodywork, penalties to follow.

 

§  5:39 p.m. – Lap 59 – CHECKERED FLAG, Matt Plumb holds off repeated last-lap attempts by Lawson Aschenbach to score second consecutive victory, and fourth of 2012, for Plumb and Nick Longhi, who take one-point lead in GS points over third-place David Empringham and John Farano.

 

§  Michael Valiante wins in ST, second victory of year for Valiante and Chad Gilsinger. … Pierre Kleinubing takes second to take over ST points lead.

Saturday, June 30, 2012 – First-Half Race Report

3:05 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.

Grand Sport (GS):

§  Billy Johnson  – No. 61 Roush Performance Products/USANA Health Services Ford Mustang Boss 302R

§  Lawson Aschenbach – No. 01 CKS Autosport Chevrolet Camaro GS.R

§  Michael Marsal – No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3

 

Street Tuner (ST) Top 3:

§  Gunnar Jeannette – No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports/Ford Racing Ford Focus

§  Pierre Kleinubing – No. 31 Cybernation/i-Moto/Mazda/EMI Mazdaspeed 3

§  Nick Mancuso – No. 16 Multimatic/Ford Racing/Jimmy John’s Ford Focus

 

Notes:

§  3:04 p.m. – On the pace lap, Hector Guerrero (No. 41 Audi) went behind the wall. David Cheng (No. 171 Volkswagen) is slow on course with a mechanical problem.

§  3:07 p.m. – Lap 1 – GREEN FLAG. Tonis Kasemets (No. 55 Aston Martin) takes the lead into Turn 1 and Eric Curran (No. 01 Camaro) moves from third to second around Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro). …    Kenny Bupp(No. 7 Mustang) and John Gaw (No. 71 Aston Martin) make contact and spin in Turn 1. Both cars continue and Bupp’s car has damage to its rear bumper. …  Tom Dyer (No. 31 Mazdaspeed 3) moves into the ST lead, ahead of Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5) and Corey Fergus (No. 197 Honda Civic Si).

§  3:09 p.m. – Lap 1 – FULL-COURSE CAUTION for Ray Mason (No. 75 Honda Civic Si), who stopped on course in Turn 2 after contact with Glenn Bocchino (No. 30 Mazdaspeed 3). Jim Jonsin (No. 07 Porsche) also stopped in the Inner Loop and later continued to the pits under his own power.

§  3:10 p.m. – Lap 2 – Gareth Nixon (No. 44 Mazdaspeed 3) and John Gaw (No. 71 Aston Martin) to the pits.

§  3:14 p.m. – Lap 3 – GS Top 3:  1) Tonis Kasemets (No. 55 Aston Martin), 2) Eric Curran (No. 01 Camaro), 3)Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro). ST Top 3:  1) Tom Dyer (No. 31 Mazdaspeed 3), 2) Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5), 3) Corey Fergus (No. 197 Honda Civic Si).

§  3:20 p.m. – Lap 4 – GREEN FLAG. Paul Dalla Lana (No. 96 BMW), Bob Michaelian (No. 52 Mustang),George Richardson (No. 62 Camaro) and Kenny Bupp (No. 7 Mustang) receive stop and go penalties for jumping the restart.

§  3:24 p.m. – Lap 6 – GS Top 3:  1) Tonis Kasemets (No. 55 Aston Martin), 2) Eric Curran (No. 01 Camaro), 3)Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro). ST Top 3:  1) Tom Dyer (No. 31 Mazdaspeed 3), 2) Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5), 3) Corey Fergus (No. 197 Honda Civic Si).

§  3:28 p.m. – Lap 8 – Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro) takes second in GS from Eric Curran (No. 01 Camaro) in Turn 1

§  .3:29 p.m. – Lap 9 – Kenny Bupp (No. 7 Mustang) spins in Turn 11 and continues. … James Clay (No. 80 BMW 328i) is in the pits with a flat left front tire. … Bupp receives a stop-and-go plus 15 seconds for avoidable contact with Clay.

§  3:32 p.m. – Lap 10 – Mark Sandridge (No. 38 Porsche Carrera) pits.

§  3:33 p.m. – Lap 11 – BJ Zacharias (No. 14 Nissan) takes third from Eric Curran (No. 01 Camaro).

§  3:36 p.m. – Lap 12 – Chad Gilsinger (No. 93 Honda Civic Si) is up to third in ST. Corey Fergus (No. 197 Honda Civic Si) drops back to sixth.

§  3:39 p.m. – Lap 14 – GS LEAD CHANGE – Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro) takes the lead from Tonis Kasemets(No. 55 Aston Martin).
3:40 p.m. – Lap 14 – FULL-COURSE CAUTION for Dinah Weisberg (No. 40 Porsche Boxster) who is stopped sideways on course entering Turn 4. … Ari Strauss (No. 4 Mazda MX-5) pulls off course with right rear damage.

§  3:42 p.m. – Lap 15 – GS Top 3 before pits open:  1) Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro), 2) Tonis Kasemets (No. 55 Aston Martin), 3) BJ Zacharias (No. 14 Nissan). ST Top 3:  1) Tom Dyer (No. 31 Mazdaspeed 3), 2) Chad Gilsinger (No. 93 Honda Civic Si), 3) Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5).

§  3:45 p.m. – Lap 15 – GS LEAD CHANGE - All of the GS frontrunners make pit stops/driver changes, giving the lead to Michael Marsal (No. 97 BMW M3). John Edwards (No. 9 Camaro) wins the race off pit road.

§  3:49 p.m. – Lap 16 – ST LEAD CHANGE – Many ST frontrunners pit, moving Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5) into the lead.

§  3:50 p.m. – Lap 17 – GS Top 3:  1) Michael Marsal (No. 97 BMW M3), 2) Brad Randall (No. 78 Mustang), 3)Michael Lavigne (No. 37 Mustang). ST Top 3:  1) Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5), 2) Nick Mancuso(No. 16 Ford Focus), 3) Nate Norenberg (No. 161 Volkswagen).

§  3:52 p.m. – Lap 18 – GREEN FLAG.

§  3:54 p.m. – Lap 18 – FULL-COURSE CAUTION - … Randall Smalley (No. 198 Mini Cooper) spun in Turn 2 and made contact with the barrier after contact with Sergio Musacchio (No. 50 Porsche Boxster). … Nic Jonsson (No. 10 Kia) is in the pits with front-end damage after contact with Musacchio. The crew takes the car back to the garage area.

§  3:57 p.m. – Lap 19 – GS Top 3:  1) Michael Marsal (No. 97 BMW M3), 2) John Edwards (No. 9 Camaro), 3)JF Dumoulin (No. 38 Porsche Carrera). ST Top 3:  1) Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5), 2) Nick Mancuso (No. 16 Ford Focus), 3) Nate Norenberg (No. 161 Volkswagen).

§  3:59 p.m. – Lap 20 – ST LEAD CHANGE – Sylvain Tremblay (No. 8 Mazda MX-5) pits, giving the lead toNick Mancuso (No. 16 Ford Focus).

§  4:01 p.m. – Lap 20 – GREEN FLAG. … GS LEAD CHANGE – John Edwards (No. 9 Camaro) takes the lead from Michael Marsal (No. 97 BMW M3) in Turn 2. Chris Brown (No. 65 BMW 328i) receives a stop-and-go plus 20 seconds penalty for an out of sequence pit stop. Sergio Musacchio (No. 50 Porsche Boxster) receives a stop-and-go plus 20 seconds penalty for avoidable contact with Randall Smalley (No. 198 Mini Cooper).

§  4:03 p.m. – Lap 21 – FULL-COURSE CAUTION - Terry Borcheller (No. 23 BMW 128i) and Owen Trinkler(No. 197 Honda Civic Si) make contact in Turn 6.

§  4:07 p.m. – Lap 22 – GS LEAD CHANGE – John Edwards (No. 9 Camaro) pits giving the lead to Billy Johnson (No. 61 Mustang).

§  4:11 p.m. – MEDICAL UPDATE:  Dinah Weisberg (No. 40 Porsche Boxster) was evaluated and released from the infield care center following her incident on Lap 14.

§  4:14 p.m. – Lap 25 - GREEN FLAG. … Lawson Aschenbach (No. 01 Camaro) takes third in GS from Robert Stout (No. 08 Porsche Carrera). … Philip Dryburgh (No. 71 Aston Martin) spins and makes contact with the tire barrier at Turn 6 after contact from Michael Lavigne (No. 37 Mustang). Lavigne is given a stop-and-go plus 20 seconds for avoidable contact.

§  4:18 p.m. – MEDICAL UPDATE – Terry Borcheller (No. 23 BMW 128i) and Owen Trinkler (No. 197 Honda Civic Si) were both evaluated and released from the infield care center following their incident on Lap 21.