Brumos Racing has always considered Barber Motorsports Park to be one of the most scenic and hospitable racetracks visited by the Grand-Am Rolex Series. The scenic setting was small comfort this year, however, as the race proved to be one of the most challenging so far this season. The extreme heat that settled in the Birmingham region brought scorching sun with race day temperatures soaring to around 102 degrees. But Brumos not only withstood the heat, we applied some of our own, ending the day with a down-to-the-wire finish, extending our streak to five top ten finishes for both cars. Our #58 car’s 2nd place marked their third runner-up podium in the last four races. Our #59 took the checkered flag in 7th place, overcoming a series of setbacks.
David Donohue was able to qualify the #58 car in 5th position. He started the race and drove for 33 laps without a cool suit to conserve ice, allowing Darren Law to make it to the end of the race on the original setup. Law drove a flawless stint, despite contact late in the race from another DP car. Following the last of five full course cautions, he got a strong restart for a three lap sprint to the finish against race leader Scott Pruett. The contest put the cars side-by-side at one point before time ran out, with Law taking the second place finish.
“I think the two cars were pretty even”, he said. “There were some spots we made some time and some spots where Scott did, but overall, I think it equaled out. He got really loose coming up the hill and I got a run on him, but he was down on the inside and I really had no option but to try the outside. The car was loose from pickup and the motor was hot and I just couldn’t make up any more any ground than I did. But it was really close - it was a great run.” Indeed, the finish was close enough to be the 4th closest in Grand-Am’s DP division history, with Law finishing just 0.341 seconds behind Pruett. David Donohue had praise for both the crew and the car, saying, “We were really looking for a win, and I think our guys deserve that. We rolled off the truck pretty far off the pace, but our guys worked late and did a wonderful job, and we ended up third in practice the next day. As this was a Porsche sponsored event, I wish we could have put our Porsche on the top of the podium. I just can’t say enough about the motor, it ran super hot, but was very strong all day.”
Our #59 car struggled with initial set-up, qualifying in 17th position. Starting driver J. C. France moved steadily up through the field when early contact from a GT car damaged the rear spoiler, affecting the aerodynamics. The crew assessed the damage and elected to stay out. France kept the car on track before making the required first pit stop under the 45 minute rule, handing the car over to Joao Barbosa. The spoiler was not replaced at that time to avoid a lengthy delay, and Barbosa was gaining position when Grand-Am ordered the car back to the pits for the repair. Later, a stop-and-go penalty for a restart infraction was contested but served. Despite the setbacks, Barbosa persevered, posting the race’s fastest time at one point, ending the day with second fastest lap in the race.
Barbosa was hoping for better results, saying “It was a difficult race for the #59 car. We lost a lap in the beginning, and the car was damaged and had some aero pieces missing. However, we were still running strong - our team did a really good job in preparing a reliable car. It was just too bad that we caught the yellows in the wrong time of the race, but we had another top ten finish. I was able to do the 2nd fastest lap of the race and the pace was there, but this time it just wasn’t our race. I’m happy we were able to gain a few more points for J. C. for the Trueman-Akin Award, as that is one of our goals. So, we will just keep digging and try to get back on top.”
Our consistently strong finishes are showing results, as both Brumos cars moved up in the team and the driver standings. Team standings now show our #58 car in 5th place, and #59 in 6th, with only one point dividing them. In driver standings, our #58 drivers are 9th, followed closely by our #59 drivers in 11th. Following the race, Dan Davis expressed his pride in the entire team’s accomplishments, saying, “I really salute each member of our team for their outstanding performance. Our crew, drivers, and our strategists all did an admirable job with our cars and again deserved the win. I am confident we will get that win soon.” Indeed, our entire team shares his confidence in an imminent victory as preparations are made to head north and, hopefully, to cooler temperatures in Montreal, for the August 1st race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.