Munroe Falls, Ohio – Hoping for back to back podium finishes, Ruman fell a bit short this past weekend at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in Danville, VA. She garnered a solid 4th place finish in Round 10 of the 2017 Trans Am Championship presented by Pirelli after a back and forth battle for 3rd.
Ruman, in her No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette, qualified in 4th position for the race, but stared in 3rd when Shane Lewis was required to start from the back after changing out his four Pirelli qualifying tires. It was a very hot and steamy race day for the 3:25 race start. The field took the green and all made it through turn one, with the front of the field staying in their respective positions. Francis Jr., Fix, and Ruman all sprinted away from the field in the opening laps setting a fast race pace. Early on, a full course caution came out to bunch them back up.
After going back to green flag racing for the remainder of the day, Ruman and Lewis exchanged positions a few times between 3rd and 4th. While in 3rd, Ruman caught some lapped traffic coming out of oak tree turn, and slid off track while trying to pass. She was forced to ride out the grass, and made a quick move to take the north paddock pit lane road and merge back onto track, mainly to avoid contact with the guardrail and the other cars on track, causing her to lose 3rd place.
“I’m really disappointed I lost that podium finish for us. I tried to read the lapped car and get a good run coming out of oak tree, but I got dropped off track trying to avoid contact. In retrospect I should’ve kept it tight inside, but Shane (Lewis) was right on my bumper and I was trying to maintain as much speed as I could heading onto the straight so he wouldn’t get a good run…well that kinda backfired!,” said Ruman. “I was gaining on him at the end, but just ran out of laps. We had a 3rd place car but it slipped away from me. It was fun racing with Shane though, we had a good battle going.”
Ruman remains third in the TA class Championship points standings. The teams head to NJMP Oct. 8th.
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.
