News
22 JULY 2008
CANNEY AND PLUMB TAKE CHAMPIONSHIP HIT AT BARBER
Birmingham, AL (22 July, 2008)— Fresh off second
and fourth place finishes in the last two rounds of
competition, Mike Canney and Hugh Plumb were
looking to make strides in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge
GS Class Championship this weekend at Barber Motorsports
Park.
Entering the weekend second in the team championship
standings, there was plenty of optimism about the Alabama
race outing for Canney and Plumb. Unfortunately, the
duo suffered a literal and figurative hit to their
championship aspirations on the very first lap of competition
as Canney was forced off track and sent spinning into
the barriers when a competitor hit the front of the
No. 58 Sunset Hills Vineyard prepared by Rehagan Racing.
The damage from the incident was extensive, but the
crew rallied to repair the car in time for Canney and
Plumb to return to the track with still over an hour
to race, soldiering home for a twenty-ninth place finish
and two potentially precious championship points.
Quinn Conda, Ray Sharp, Craig Young and others on the
Rehagen Racing team did an amazing job to get the car
back on the track. The repair effort was all
the more remarkable given the significant car changes
made prior to the race, before ultimately requiring
the team to switch to their backup car.
“We had some problems with our differentials
overheating, we broke a rocker arm and had to swap
motors, and you hate to not even complete the first
lap. It’s really frustrating but that’s
racing. The other driver came over and apologized after
the race, which shows class, but the damage was done
to our points race. We had some good luck to make it
on fuel in Watkins Glen, but we just didn’t get
any luck here today. This is a big set back for us
championship wise, but we will recover as much as possible
in the next few rounds.”
The run to the finish was key, particularly given the
results that the other championship contenders experienced,
as the Barber round produced an all-Mustang podium
for the first time in Series’ history.
“When you are trying to make up ground in a championship,
you obviously hope to not have days like this,” said
Plumb, who scored second in the 2006 KONI ST class
championship. “But there just wasn’t anything
that Mike could do there, so hat’s off to the
guys for all the effort they put in all weekend, and
hopefully we can get back in form in Iowa. You never
know what kind of problems the other guys might run
up against, so we just have to put this behind us and
be ready to go again because there is still a tremendous
amount of racing yet to go in this championship.”
The KONI Challenge Barber Motorsports Park race will
be broadcast on SPEED at 2:00 PM, July 26. The next
round of competition for Canney and Plumb will be in
Newton, Iowa at Iowa Speedway on August 9-10.
Additional information available: www.mcanney.com
ABOUT SUNSET HILLS VINEYARD:
Sunset Hills Vineyard produces high-quality Bordeaux
style wines, from our 45 acre historic farm in Northern
Virginia. Located at the foothills of the Blue
Ridge Mountains, our soil and climate conditions are
well suited for producing quality wine. We will produce
about 36,000 bottles of wine this year including; Chardonnay,
Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit
Verdot. Our wines are available at the winery, and
at festivals held in the Middle Atlantic states. For
additional information, please visit: http://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com.
Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
(317) 908-2975 Mobile