Race Recap: Grand-Am Diamond Cellar Classic at Mid-Ohio

Rum Bum Racing notched their second win of the 2013 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season when drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi took the checkered flag during the Diamond Cellar Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The win on Father’s Day weekend helped the defending series champions maintain their 2013 championship points lead over the #9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro of Matt Bell and John Edwards.

The GS-class field is shown in formation prior to the start of the Diamond Cellar Classic at Mid-Ohio.

The Mustang teams struggled throughout the weekend to find the pace to match their competition. In practice, the best any Mustang could do was 11th quickest, set by Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr and their #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R. That said, practice times don’t mean much, as savvy teams instruct their drivers to “sandbag” and deliberately slow during portions of a lap to avoid showing their hands before qualifying.

Roddey Sterling Jr. watches two young fans check out his #59 Moon Pie Racing Mustang BOSS 302R during the pre-race fan walk.

Speaking of qualifying, Jade Buford captured his third pole position of the year by clocking record-setting time of 1:30.453 in his Multimatic Motorsports Aston Marton Vantage. Jack Roush Jr was 7th quickest, and the best of the Mustangs. A testament to the competitive nature and the effective rules package of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge: Two Aston Martins, two Mustangs, a Camaro, a Nissan 370Z, a Porsche, and a BMW M3 comprised the top ten qualifiers!

After the customary pre-race fan walk, the racers were ready. Pole-sitter Jade Buford led the field to the green, and the race was on. Everyone settled into a rhythm as the teams chose their strategies. The first yellow flag came out on lap ten when Michael Marsal (#71 Aston Martin) crashed at turn two. With barely thirty minutes elapsed, some drivers headed to the pits for tires, fuel, and to hand the car over to their teammates. Others, including race leader Buford, stayed out.

With the race back to green, Buford’s Aston led the field uninterrupted until pitting on lap 33 when Patrick Linn’s #05 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang Boss 302R was stopped on the track. Joey Atterbury (#51 ROUSH Performance Mustang Boss 302R), running second at the time, also pitted. David Epringham (#15 Aston Martin) inherited the lead, followed by Mike McGovern (#02 Mustang) and Bryan Sellers (#46 BMW).

Top Left: The #78 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R of Richard Golinello and David Levine thunders under the Honda bridge at Mid-Ohio during Thursday’s testing session. Top Right: Patrick Linn and James Davidson shared the #05 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R at Mid-Ohio. Bottom Left: The #05 Racer’s edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R is framed by trees and followed by the #01 CKS Autosport Camaro during Thursday afternoon’s testing session at Mid-Ohio. Drivers Linn and Davidson qualified 18th and finished 22nd, sixteen laps down. Bottom Right: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s 2.26-mile course is draped among scenic Ohio farmland just west of Lexington, Ohio. Here the Jim Click Racing FR500C powers toward “Thunder Valley” during testing on Thursday. The #54 is a sister car to the #2 Mustang Boss 302R, and is used to help drivers Jim Click and Mike McGovern gain extra seat time.

When the race re-started, Bryan Sellers quickly moved up to second, and took the lead two laps later. With an hour remaining, another full-course caution flag came out to retrieve the #00 Camaro of Ashley McCalmont. It was decision time for the teams: to make it to the end on fuel, teams would either have to stop for fuel, or stay out and gamble that more caution flags were to come.

The Fall-Line Motorsports crew didn’t want to take any chances, so they brought race leader Bryan Sellers to the pits for fuel. Teammate Charles Espenlaub (#48 BMW) and Billy Johnson (#61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R) also pitted.

Left: Joey Atterbury passes an ST-class BMW during Friday’s second practice session. Atterbury got the lion’s share of the seat time on Friday, as co-driver Shelby Blackstock was in Milwaukee for a Pro Mazda race. Right: Roger Miller and Ian James shared the #158 Depmsey/Miller Racing Mustang BOSS 302R at Mid-Ohio.

When exiting pit lane during a caution period, drivers cannot rejoin the race while the field is streaming past the pit lane exit. Rather, they must wait to rejoin the race and catch up to the last car behind the pace car. Historically, an official enforced this rule by standing at the end of pit lane with a red flag as the field drove by. Starting with the Mid-Ohio race, a stoplight placed at the end of pit lane replaced the official. Unfortunately, a few drivers didn’t notice the light and exited pit lane when the light was red.

The #58 Dempsey/Miller Racing Mustang BOSS 302R negotiates “Thunder Valley” during Thursday afternoon’s testing session.

Billy Johnson was one of the drivers penalized for exiting the pits while the red light was on, and forced to come back to the pits and held for 60 seconds This effectively eliminated the #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R and co-driver Jack Roush Jr from contention for the race win.

Richard Golinello and David Levine finished a solid 9th at Mid-Ohio in the #78 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R. It was their best finish of the season.

Matt Plumb (#13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche) shuffled to the lead for the restart. Bryan Sellers (first of those that pitted and on the alternate fuel strategy) started charging through the field from rejoining the race in 16th position. With ten minutes remaining, Sellers was up to 5th, and waiting for those ahead of him to run out of fuel.

But, with ten minutes remaining, those ahead of Sellers were “saved by the bell,” as a caution flag came out again—allowing Matt Plumb and those in the next three positions to save enough fuel to finish the race. The race went green for the final two laps, but Sellers only gained one position, and finished fourth.

The podium celebration comprised Nick Longhi/Matt Plumb (#13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche) on the top step, Paul Dalla Lana/Bill Auberlen (#96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3) finishing second, and Matt Bell/John Edwards (#9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro) third.

The next stop for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge circus is Watkins Glen, the weekend of June 29th. The legendary upstate New York course is a favorite for fans and drivers alike. Look for coverage of this exciting racing series to continue from New York’s wine country!

Photos and Captions

The ever-popular fan walk at Mid-Ohio gives fans unfettered access to their favorite drivers and cars.

 

The Jim Click Racing crew puts the #2 Mustang BOSS 302R “back in the box” after a day of testing.


The #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R lifts the inside front tire while powering ahead of a Multimatic Aston Martin during qualifying for Saturday’s race. Drivers Joey Atterbury and Shelby Blackstock finished 5th after qualifying 9th.


Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson had a rough weekend at Mid-Ohio in the #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R. After starting 6th, they were given a stop-and-hold plus 60-seconds penalty for a pit lane infraction. As a result, they finished 19th.

Michael Marsal goes for a wild ride after nosing his #71 Aston Martin in the tires at turn two, bringing out the race’s first caution flag.


Roddey Sterling Jr. pressures the #78 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R during the opening laps of the Diamond Cellar Classic at Mid-Ohio.


Jim Click rounds turn two in the #2 Mustang BOSS 302R at Mid Ohio. He and co-driver Mike McGovern finished 14th after starting 23rd.

 

Emotions run high as Dean Martin shows his displeasure at being held up by a lapped car during the closing laps of the race. He and co-driver Roddey Sterling Jr. netted 8th place at Mid-Ohio—their best result to date.


In proper Mustang fashion, Ian James’s Mustang BOSS 302R lifts the inside front tire while exiting “Madness” in front of the fans. He finished 15th after co-driver Roger Miller started 21st.

About the author

Don Creason

Don Creason is an automotive journalist with passions that lie from everything classic, all the way to modern muscle. Experienced tech writer, and all around car aficionado, Don's love for both cars and writing makes him the perfect addition to the Power Automedia team of experts.
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