Stars Align For Plumb Brothers at VIR

The stars aligned in the most recent Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race for Matt and Hugh Plumb at VIRginia International Raceway. 

It was their mother’s birthday, and both of their parents were in attendance – along with their brother Charley.It was also Matt’s 17th wedding anniversary. Overcoming adversity, the No. 13 Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Studios Porsche 911 stayed in contention despite running without power steering for much of the race. 

Matt was cruising in third position with two laps remaining, hoping to have enough fuel to reach the finish line. Suddenly, both of the cars ahead of him ran out of fuel. He switched to his reserve tank on the final lap, and had enough gasoline in the tank to give the team its second consecutive victory, and third of the season. It also allowed the brothers to close to within 10 points of Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis – who finished third in the No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R – in the Grand Sport (GS) standings with two races remaining, 251-241.“Today we got lucky,” Plumb admitted after the race. “Pit strategy, fuel strategy – we started saving the moment we pitted for our second run. We knew without power steering we were going to suffer a little on the pace and that I was not going to have a whole lot to battle with. We could only hope that it would go green the whole time, and I tried to save, save, save – and keep enough energy for the end.“It worked.”Saving fuel was not foremost in the minds of BJ Zacharias and Brett Sandberg, who put up a terrific battle up front. Zacharias was looking to give Doran Racing its first victory in the series, driving the No. 14 Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z started from the pole by Brad Jaeger. Sandberg had taken over from Al Carter in the No. 99 Invisible Glass/Rogue Engineering/Red Glare Records Aston Martin Vantage fielded by Automatic Racing, which scored its lone Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge triumph in 2008 at Lime Rock Park, the year it won the GS title.Zacharias ran out of fuel in the Oak Tree Turn while leading on the penultimate lap, causing the final circuit to be run under caution. Sandberg initially planned to take a splash of fuel while heading to the white flag, but when the yellow was displayed, Automatic Racing team owner David Russell waved him through, gambling that he would go the distance at reduced speed.He couldn’t, handing the lead to Matt Plumb, who still wasn’t out of the woods.“I went to reserve on the white flag lap,” Plumb said. “When the Aston went out of gas, I knew I still had to make it all the way around, but I was in sixth gear, taking it easy. There was not much fuel left at the checkered flag.”Of their six victories co-driving as brothers, three of them have been at VIR. They won in ST for Bill Fenton Motorsports in 2006, and in GS in 2008 for Rehagen Racing.“All of my victories were pretty special, but this was definitely the strangest,” Matt Plumb said. “The circumstances were pretty unique. We just couldn't give up, and it turned out the perseverance paid off in the end. The guys on the team set the perfect example that when conditions aren’t optimal, you keep fighting, you don’t give up. With that attitude, you’re not going to let a thing like losing power steering be an excuse.”Hugh Plumb said he felt the power steering starting to go in waves around the 45-minute mark, and knew it was only a matter of time before it failed.“I felt horrible giving the car over to Matt with no power steering,” Hugh said. “At least we were able to keep it near the front of the field. The Rum Bum guys did an amazing job with the pit stops, and knowing that this could play out in our favor. And it did.”