Although it returned to endurance racing in 2015 following an almost two-year absence, Brumos Racing will be no more starting in 2016. The legendary name will no longer adorn race-spec Porsches->ke1 after Dan Davis, the man in charge of the operation since 1990, sold Brumos Automotive to Field Automotive of Florida.

The latter will take possession of the seven Brumos dealerships, including the iconic Porsche store in Jacksonville, once the sale is completed early in 2016. The dealerships will continue to operate as Field Automotive stores, as the sale does not include the Brumos name or the inventory of Brumos Racing vintage race cars.->ke148

"Dan was comfortable selling to the Field group because they have similar ethics, and the Field group will go on and not disrupt all of our great management and staff in the dealerships," legendary driver and Brumos vice president Hurley Haywood told Racer.

"And as far as Brumos goes, Dan has retained the rights to Brumos, so he will continue to hold that name. Whether you'll see us in racing... I doubt it. He's over that, and I'm too old to continue racing,->ke447 but we wanted to protect that name so it didn't show up at some used-car dealership... We'll still have the museum with the cars in it for the next two years, and by that time, we should find a new space for those cars and all the major cars will stay with Dan," he added.

Brumos Racing was launched in 1971 by Peter Gregg, 12 years after Brumos began importing Porsche sports cars into the United States.

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Why it matters

Although Brumos Racing hasn't been very active over the last three years, it's sad to see the name and the iconic red, white and blue livery go away just like that. Not only one of the most legendary names in North American endurance racing, Brumos was also one of the very few race teams to have survived for more than four decades. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Brumos is no exception from this unforgiving rule. The good news is that both the name and the vintage race cars were retained by Davis, which means they won't fall into the wrong hands. Moreover, Davis will probably take good care of the Brumos-liveried racers and make sure they will travel to vintage motorsport events in order to keep the brand's heritage alive.

Racing History

Founded in 1971 by Peter Gregg, Brumos Racing competed in the IMSA GT Championship with sponsorship and cars supplied by the Brumos dealership. Although it didn't reach the height of factory-backed teams, Brumos did win the 24 Hours of Daytona four times. Its first success dates back to 1973, when Gregg and Hurley Haywood drove a 911 RSR to victory, a performance they repeated in 1975. In 1978, Brumos won the race for the third time, this time around with a Porsche 935/77. Its fourth and final success came in 2009 with a Porsche-powered Riley prototype. Brumos’ career also includes appearances in the Can-Am series with the incredibly fast and powerful 917/10. Brumos Racing's last appearance on the race track occurred in 2015, when the brand sponsored Patrick Dempsey and the newly formed Dempsey/Wright Motorsports team. The No.58 Porsche 911 GT America finished in Brumos' legendary livery raced at Daytona and Sebring.