July 13, 2004 – Munroe Falls, OH – The Ruman Racing team was trying to add another win to their win column this past weekend at the SCCA Watkins Glen National. But, despite a 2nd place qualifying run, and leading the race for 3 laps, Amy Ruman’s efforts fell short. She lost the motor on the 4th lap of the 14-lap race. Ruman was bouncing back with a sore ankle from her crash at the BeverRun National three weeks ago.
Ruman and pole sitter, Jack Busch, were duking it out on the first lap, when Ruman passed him for the lead. By the third lap of the race, Ruman had a substantial lead on the field. But just past the start/finish line on the fourth lap the motor let go, filling the cockpit with a ton of smoke that blocked Ruman’s vision. She was able to safely pull off line and into the grass at turn one.
“I was just sick when that motor went. We had an awesome car in qualifying and an even better one in the race. Once I got by Jack on the first lap, I was able to put some distance on him by the second lap. He looked like he had some push in the car, but I had none – we were hooked up. The motor was the last thing I was worried about since it had been strong all weekend; I was more worried about my ankle holding up for the whole race,” exclaimed Ruman.
“I was so disappointed for Amy and the team,” stated owner and crew chief Bob Ruman. “She was running a great race and maintaining a good lead. We made some last minute setup changes for the race, and they were obviously in the right direction.”
This makes for a tight points race between Ruman and Busch. Ruman was leading the GT-1 Northeast Division with 48 points going into the Watkins Glen race, but they are tied after this weekend with 48 points.
On Deck: Amy Ruman at the August 14-15: SCCA National at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ohio
www.rumanracing.com
