Munroe Falls, Ohio – Amy Ruman and team were off to a very strong start at New Jersey Motorsports Park this past weekend for the Weekend of Thunder, Round 11 of the 2017 Trans Am Championship presented by Pirelli. Unfortunately, her finish was cut short once again.
After leading both official Trans Am practice sessions on Saturday, and qualifying 2nd just hundredths off the pole position, Ruman was surely poised to have a good race – until it wasn’t. After having a drag race start from the front row, Ruman and pole sitter Ernie Francis Jr. were neck and neck into turn one. Ruman slotted into second position on exit, and the top three were off and running. Ruman was running comfortably in 2nd position, when the leaders started lapping the TA3/4 class, that’s when trouble struck the No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette.
Ruman made a move to go up the inside in the shoot between turns 1 and 2, when a TA4 car chopped her, damaging the car and causing a left front tire to go flat. She limped the car around without causing too much more damage, and the crew was able to swap the tire out. This put her a lap down, and several laps later suffered a mechanical failure and was forced back to the paddock.
“All I can do is shake my head,” shrugged Ruman. “This is like the fourth time this season unnecessary contact has happened with us. At this level, drivers should know when the leaders are coming and be able to handle side-by-side racing, unfortunately certain people are not aware of what’s happening on the track. We had a great race going with Francis Jr. and Allegretta and our day ended way too soon. I want to thank McNichols Co. again for their unwavering support. We had some McNichols associates attending the race along with some customers, and I just hate that I didn’t make it to the podium for them. The NJ fan turnout was unbelievable coming out to support us and it was great to visit with a lot of them during the fan walk.”
The 2017 Trans Am Championship presented by Pirelli was clinched by Ernie Francis, Jr. following this race, and Ruman slipped to 4th place. “I just want to congratulate Ernie and the Breathless Racing team on winning the 2017 Championship, I just wish we would’ve had more for them this year – but congrats!” The results of the race were still provisional at the time of this release.
SPONSORS: McNICHOLS CO. is the nation’s largest distributor of Perforated and Expanded Metals; Wire Mesh; Bar, Plank, and Safety Gratings; Stair Treads; Matting; and more. Products are carried in all styles and materials–stocked for 24 hour shipment. “Inspired to Serve”™ 800.237.3820 mcnichols.com.
OMP Racing, Inc., OMP Racing is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of racing safety equipment and tuning accessories with a catalog of over 3,000 different items. Operating from a technologically advanced 80,000 sqft facility in Italy, OMP products are renowned for its quality, the meticulous attention to details that is constantly challenged by setting higher standards. For products and information visit ompamerica.com or ompsport.com.
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Race Info/Scoring/Results: www.gotransam.com Ruman Racing, Inc., is based in Munroe Falls, Ohio.
