CTSC: Rum Bum Racing suspends operations

Luis Bacardi's Rum Bum Racing will suspend its 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge campaign, the team announced Monday.

The team will continue to evaluate competition possibilities in the future as well as investigate partnership opportunities.

Brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb brought home the pole at the season-opening race in Daytona along with a fifth-place finish, and returned to the podium at Sebring with a third-place finish.

The team made a winning first impression in 2010, taking a victory at Daytona International Speedway in its first-ever race with drivers Matt Plumb and Gian Bacardi.

In 66 starts, the team has 21 wins, six poles and 32 podiums. It has completed 91 percent of total race laps, leading 17 percent of those laps. The organization won back-to-back GRAND-AM championships in 2012 and 2013, propelled BMW to the manufacturers championship in 2010 and 2011, and did the same for Porsche in 2012 and 2013.

Lead driver and general manager Matt Plumb not only became the winningest driver in the history of the championship, but did so in record time. Team manager Joe Varde also added to his championship record of nine as driver and crew chief.