Turning Point Tuesday: RS1 Porsche’s Spencer Pumpelly and Nick Galante Overcome Late-Season Adversities to Win ST Championship

NOTE:  This is the first in a series of “Turning Point Tuesday” features in which IMSA.com takes a look at the turning point for championship-winning performances in the 2016 season.

To say the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season came with high expectations for Spencer Pumpelly and Nick Galante would be an understatement.

The previous year, Pumpelly and co-driver Luis Rodriguez Jr. collected four wins on their way to finishing third in the Street Tuner (ST) points after a strong first season for the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman.

Bringing back veteran Pumpelly and adding Galante, who had competed in the series since 2011, meant the team would have a pair of experienced racers for an upcoming season that promised a competitive field.

After scoring a win at Daytona in 2015, the No. 17 Porsche finished second in 2016 but struggled in the next two rounds at Sebring International Raceway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Despite the shaky start, the team managed to hold on to second place in the standings.

“We knew with the long break between Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen that we needed to regroup and focus hard on the intense summer schedule,” team principal Justin Bellinzoni explained. “We took a trip up to Watkins Glen to test the new surface and that really paid off for us.  We rolled the cars off the trailer race weekend ready to go.”

The testing paid off for RS1 as the team broke through to get its first win of the season at Watkins Glen – which also was the first in Continental Tire Challenge competition for Galante – and move into the points lead over the No. 25 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 of Steven McAleer and Chad McCumbee.

“The team focused on being consistent from there on out, because our goal was trying to win the championship,” Bellinzoni said.

They seemed to hit the nail on the head, as Pumpelly and Galante finished second the following week at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, fourth two weeks later at Lime Rock Park, and scored their second win of the season in August at Road America, extending their points advantage to 14.

Momentum seemed to be on RS1’s side heading into the final three races of the year, but VIR proved to be challenging as torrential rains and an unlucky strategic call kept the Porsche Cayman from ever breaking into the top 10. RS1’s lead was reduced to just six points after Pumpelly and Galante finished 16th in the race.

A chance to bounce back in the penultimate round of the season at Circuit of The Americas vanished a few minutes into the race when mechanical issues brought the car behind the wall. The car returned to the track to finish 22nd, but in the process lost the points lead to the No. 25 Mazda.

Despite a strong overall season, two disappointing finishes saw Pumpelly and Galante chasing the championship heading into the finale at Road Atlanta. With 30 minutes remaining, the veteran team had positioned themselves well for the win by patiently working their way through the field to take the lead. The team had done all they could but their fate still rested in someone else’s hands and they needed a miracle to get back the championship.

With 22 minutes left in the race and the season, the turning point in the ST championship occurred. The No. 25 machine dramatically slowed on course with McAleer at the wheel and the car plummeted through the field.  Four minutes later, he was off the track and behind the wall.

In the blink of an eye, the finale brought a double reward, as Pumpelly went on to win the race and secure the ST championship for Galante and the team.

“We came here knowing the championship would be a little out of our hands, so we came here trying to do the best we could,” Pumpelly said after the race. “We figured if we won and the 25 car was fifth or worst it would be ours. I certainly wanted to win my first championship in 20-some years of doing this, but it’s unfortunate for the 25 car – they’ve been our greatest competition all year. But I can really enjoy this win and the championship.”

After two strong seasons in the Continental Tire Challenge totaling seven wins and one championship, all eyes will be on the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman in 2017.