SCC: Plumb, Bacardi take season-opening win

Matt Plumb and Gianluis Bacardi drove to victory Friday in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Fresh from Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Behind the wheel of the Rum Bum Racing BMW M3, Plumb passed Charles Espenlaub with two laps remaining in the 66-lap event to take the win. Espenlaub and Charlie Putnam had to settle for second in the Fall Line Motorsports BMW M3.

#13 Rum Bum Racing BMW M3 Coupe: Gianluis Bacardi, Matt Plumb takes the checkered flag.

Photo by Eric Gilbert.

"[Espenlaub] didn't make it easy for me, but I didn't expect much as far as courtesy and I wouldn't give him the same," said Plumb after his fourth series win.

The win was Bacardi's first in his first series race.

The Colo Logistics Porsche 997 shared by Spencer Pumpelly and Steve Miller rounded out the top-three in the Grand Sport class.

Lawson Aschenbach and David Thilenius won the Street Tuner class in the Skunk2/Honda Honda Civic Si. "We had a pretty good race," said Aschenbach after his fourth win in 11 races. "David did a great job keeping the nose clean and saved some brakes for me. Fortunately, I was able to bring it home."

The Performance Friction BMW 328i shared by Seth Thomas and Bill Heumann finished second in class, followed by Andrew Carbonell and Rhett O'Doski in the Mazda/Aventura Technologies Mazda MX-5.

The race featured six lead changes among four drivers and four cautions for 15 laps.