Matt Plumb drove the #13 Rum Bum Racing into victory circle as a repeat winner of the Road America 200 on August 10, 2013 after winning the same event last year. It was also the third time this season that Plumb and co-driver Nick Longhi took the top step of the podium this season, helping them solidify their points lead in the championship standings.

The eighth round of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season was held in conjunction with North America’s other premier road racing series: the American LeMans Series. For the first time in each series’ history, they converged on the same track for a “double bill” weekend. The event served as a preview of the excitement fans can expect when Grand-Am and the American Lemans Series merge in 2014 as United SportsCar Racing. Given the large fields for every Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race, most expect the CTSCC to remain as a support series for United SportsCar Racing weekends next year.

Besides the historic nature of the competition at Road America, the venue itself is legendary. Hosting its first race in 1955, the 4-mile track is one of the first purpose-built racing circuits in the United States. If its asphalt could talk, the stories it could tell! Because of its rich history (and rich track food), Elkhart Lake’s Road America is a highlight on the Grand-Am calendar.

One of the Mustang BOSS 302’s strength’s is straight-line speed, of which Road America has plenty. The course’s three long straightaways and several fast corners combine for triple-digit average speeds over the course of a mid-two-minute lap. They don’t build-em like this anymore…and for good reason. Get it wrong at Road America, and it goes wrong in a big way.

Jack Roush Jr. and co-driver Billy Johnson, however, were getting it right—their s#61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R was quickest in practice on Thursday. In hot pursuit was the #48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 driven by series veteran Charles Espenlaub and fast series newcomer Trent Hindman.

In qualifying on Friday morning, Bryan Heitkotter led the way in his #14 Doran Racing Nissan 370Z, followed by aforementioned Hindman, and Frank Montecalvo in the #15 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage. Jack Roush Jr. piloted his Mustang to a 5th starting position for Saturday morning’s race, the top Mustang.

After the ever-popular pre-race fan walk on pit lane, the drivers took their cars to the track. At the wave of the green, pole-sitter Heitkotter led the field through turn one, and subsequently put a comfortable gap on the field en route to setting the weekend’s fastest lap: a scorching 2:21.641.

Twenty-two minutes into the race, Matt Bell brought is #9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro into pit lane with smoke trailing from the left rear. Currently second in the championship standings, the team was looking for a strong finish. Mercifully, Bell headed back out on track after spending ten minutes in pit lane. Only a similar fate or a DNF for series leaders #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche would help the #9 Camaro gain ground on their rivals in the championship standings.

While the Stevenson Motorsports crew tended to their Camaro, the race’s second full-course caution was called to retrieve the front bumper of an ST-class BMW. Jack Roush Jr. brought his #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R in to have the rear bumper repaired, and many other racers came in for fresh tires, to fill up with fuel, and to switch drivers. The front-runners, including Heitkotter in the #14 Nissan, stayed out and continued to lead. Tim Bell, driving the #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R was sitting third.

With fifty minutes elapsed, another full-course caution was called to retrieve Honda #75, which was stopped at Canada Corner (turn 12). Bryan Heikotter took the opportunity to pit and hand the car over BJ Zacharias, the action giving the lead to 17-year-old Trent Hindman in the #48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW, and promoting Tim Bell (#51 Mustang) to second.

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Left: Richard Golinello and David Levine co-drove the #78 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R, shown here leaving Thunder Valley on the way to Bill Mitchell Bend. Right: Dempsey/Miller Racing brought out the #58, #158’s sister car, for testing on Wednesday.

The leaders drove in formation for the subsequent half-hour until another full-course caution was called when the #198 Honda was stranded with a broken front suspension after making contact with a competitor. Leader Hindman took the opportunity to pit for fuel, tires, and to hand over driving duties to 2010 series champion Charles Espenlaub. With virtually everyone having pitted, the stage was set for the last half of the race.

When the CTSCC’s large number of cars combined with Road America’s high-speed layout and multiple crash-prone areas, the races have been plagued with multiple caution periods—especially late in the race when drivers start taking larger risks to gain positions. Thus, most teams made a final stop for fuel with a little over an hour remaining—knowing that they’d be on the edge fuel-wise to make it to the finish, but banking that there would be at least one caution period where they could save fuel and complete the distance.

However, those who drove aggressively and “fished” for a caution period were wrong. Surprisingly, the last 75 minutes of the race were devoid of cautions, forcing the then-race leader, Spencer Pumpelly to pit for fuel with two laps left to run. Joey Atterbury, had to pull the #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R off to the side at turn 12 after his engine overheated with the #48 BMW’s rear bumper cover stubbornly stuck to the front of the Mustang’s nose.

As many competitors nursed their cars around on fumes, Matt Plumb in the #13 Rum Bum Porsche inherited the lead and took the checker. The team’s masterful strategy and Plumb’s efficient driving meant he was the first with enough fuel to reach the end.

Nick Mancuso in the #15 Aston Martin Vantage followed Plumb to the checker, with BJ Zacharias holding third in the #14 Nissan 370Z.

The win for Matt Plumb and co-driver Nick Longhi and the misfortune that befell the #9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro meant Rum Bum Racing extended their points lead in the championship to 54 points. With 35 points on offer for each win, the gap to second-place runner Stevenson Motorsports is significant, and Rum Bum Racing may clinch the championship at Kansas Speedway. We’ll see how it pans out this Saturday!