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Written by:
David Phillips
Senior writer, RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
Senior writer, RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
06/22/2008 - 01:58 AM
Lexington, Ohio
An emotional week for Matt Plumb (LAT photo) » More Photos
PLUMBS’ MEMORABLE WEEK It was quite a week for Matt Plumb and his family. On Thursday, Plumb’s father J. Michael Plumb was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. The senior Plumb is America’s most successful Olympic equestrian, having earned a total of six medals in a career that included the Tokyo, Mexico City, Munich, Montreal and Los Angeles Olympics. For the record, the break down comes out to an individual gold medal in ’84, team gold medals in ’76 and ’84 and team silver medals in ’64, ‘68 and ’72.
In the latter half of the EMCO Gears Classic this evening, it looked like Matt Plumb might add a “gold” medal to the family trophy case, as he took the RumBum BMW Riley into the lead of the Daytona Production category on a drying track. And while he stayed in the lead for 31 aps, he was eventually forced to give way to eventual winner Alex Gurney and, later, the Brumos Porsche/Riley of Darren Law.
“The Rum Bum car felt great when the conditions were a little sketchy,” said Plumb, who matched his best finish of the season today. “The wet tires were just tremendous but towards the end, as good as the Pirellis are, we may have found their limits.”
Asked to put his nearly victorious performance into perspective, Plumb said “It’s funny. My father’s a very competitive guy. Last week he said, ‘You know you’re doing al lright. Those third places are OK, but let’s do something better this weekend . . .
“Honestly, his accomplishments are awesome. Unless auto racing suddenly becomes an Olympic sport, I probably won’t be able to match it.”
Did we mention Matt’s older brother Hugh finished on the podium last weekend in the KONI Challenge at Mosport?
WHO IS BRANDON BRAZIL? If there was an award for “Busiest Driver” of the EMCO Gears Classic, a fellow my the name of Brandon Brazil would have been the hands-down winner. Who is Brandon Brazil? He is the driver of the JLG forklift that was stationed at the end of Mid-Ohio’s back straightaway and, from the moment the rains came on Lap Six to when the checkered flag fell two and 3/4 hours later, he was a very busy man. Then again, so were most of
Monsoon-like conditions were made more complicated by a slippery track sealant. (LAT photo) » More Photos
SEALING THE DEAL Certainly the monsoon-like conditions that prevailed through much of the race played a significant role in all those full course yellows. Then again, the course itself had something to do with it, in particular the sealer used to bond the track surface together. “We love this course,” said Robin Liddell who, along with Andrew Davis, co-drove the Stevenson Racing Pontiac GXP-R to second place in GT. “We all look forward to coming to Mid-Ohio every season. It’s one of the all time classic North American race courses. That said, the sealer caused a lot of problems. I’d say that 70-80% of the cautions were caused by the sealer being so slippery in the wet conditions.”
Liddell has particular reason to bemoan the sealer as it contributed to one spin and one near-spin that cost him a chance at the GT class win. On one of the many restarts he spun coming through the gentle left-hander onto the pit straightaway. Then while battling with Leh Keen in the closing stages of the race, Liddell slipped up in that same corner, allowing the Farnbacher Loles Porsche into a lead it was destined to maintain to the checkered flag.
“The problem wasn’t so much the left hander as the fact that the last third of the turn before it (the Carousel) is covered with that sealer,” he said. “So when you’re trying to get on the throttle you’re getting gobs of oversteer and what is a no-brainer of a turn in the dry (the following left hander) becomes treacherous in the wet. I spun on one of the restarts there and nearly went off while dicing with Leh for the same reason.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s the same for everybody but for sure the sealer through up some extra challenges for us all today.”
For the record, Liddell was hardly the only driver to fall victim to the challenge of that part of the course. No less than Max Angelelli nearly fell off the road there himself in his unsuccessful efforts to keep Brian Friselle at bay in the latter stages of the race.
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