Fall-Line M3s finish first, third, and fourth in Continental Challenge
When the track went green for one final lap of racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge enduro at Watkins Glen, Bryan Sellers in his Fall-Line M3 passed Matt Plumb in his Rum Bum Porsche and held on for the overall and Grand Sport class wins. The track had gone to yellow when rain intensified with just over 30 minutes left in the 2 ½-hour race.
Sellers said afterward, “Under these conditions, I really didn’t want to go green, but when I heard there was one lap to go I changed my mindset. I knew my only chance was on the restart, and I was able to make the move to take the lead. To Matt Plumb’s credit, he raced me clean. That last lap out front was the hardest part – it’s much easier to be the guy that’s following under these conditions.”
It was the first CTSCC win for Sellers and Fall-Line team owner Mark Boden. Two other Fall-Line M3s crossed the line after Plumb’s Porsche; His brother Hugh Plumb and co-driver Al Carter finished third, while Charles Putman and Charles Espenlaub finished fourth. The Turner Motorsport M3 of Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana was a contender as well; Auberlen led for a time, but he was one of many drivers who went off course in the deluge that brought out the yellow flag with 30 minutes left.
There had been a long yellow at the beginning of the race as well, as Derek Whitis hit the wall in his Mazda MX-5 on lap two. Nick Longhi, Matt Plumb’s co-driver, collided with Matt Bell in his Camaro just before Whitis’ incident. Longhi eventually served a stop-and-go penalty plus sixty seconds for avoidable contact; despite the setback Matt Plumb was able to get the car back into the lead in the race, holding on until he was passed by Sellers.
BMWs did not fare as well in the Street Tuner class; Pete McIntosh and Mike Skeen finished seventh in their Mitchum Motorsports 128i, while the win went to Stevan McAleer and Marc Miller in their CJ Wilson Racing Mazda MX-5.
CTSCC runs again at Indianapolis on July 26.—Brian S. Morgan
