June 28, 2005 – For Immediate Release: June 28, 2005
Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell
SAFETY TODAY AND CLEVELAND HARD FACING ADD SPONSORSHIP
Munroe Falls, OH – Amy Ruman put together a strong performance all weekend at the “Trans-Am on the Tarmac” Cleveland Grand Prix in the #23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette, placing 10th overall and 2nd in the GT-1 class in Saturday’s race. Ruman was substituting for father Bob Ruman, who had planned to race at Cleveland, but suffered a minor injury just days before the race. Safety Today and Cleveland Hard Facing, two Ohio based companies, also announced at the Cleveland race their sponsorship of Amy’s effort.
“Thursday night I was very excited to get the call from Safety Today and Cleveland Hard Facing that they were going to join our team. It was great to have them on board for our hometown race,” exclaimed Ruman. “Safety Today will be a great addition to our program for the rest of the season.”
Ruman was 9th in the first practice session on Friday morning. She then posted a 5th in the second practice Friday afternoon. In Friday’s late afternoon qualifying session, Ruman qualified 8th. Saturday afternoon’s race was hot and humid, with temperatures reaching well over 90 degrees. Ruman started 7th as one competitor dropped to the back of the field with an engine change. Ruman had a great start and moved up to 6th by the exit of turn one. She was in a heated battle the first couple laps and moved back and forth between 6th, 7th, and 8th places. On lap 24, she moved solidly into 4th place, where she stayed for about five laps. Then, as Tomy Drissi moved to pass her at the kink in the pit straight, Ruman went off line just enough to get in the marbles and spun coming out of the kink. She dropped down to 8th, but was working her way back up when, with just 15 laps to go, the car suffered a mechanical failure. Ruman nevertheless had secured 10th place.
“That was an awesome experience!” said Ruman. “The McNichols/Cenweld Corvette was running great the whole race. For most of the race I had the leaders right in my sight and my times were very competitive. It was a real heart breaker when I fell out with just 15 to go. I really had a big lead in the GT-1 portion of the race until my spin, but I was able to hold on to second. Hopefully I will have more opportunities to run Trans-Am again.”
“As I expected, Amy did an amazing job,” exclaimed Bob Ruman. “She was certainly a quick study of both the track and the competitors. Pulling off top-10 practice and qualifying times every session and then securing a 10th in the race was thrilling. She was confident and very focused. I’m sure it won’t be the only time you’ll see her in Trans-Am.”
Ruman’s stable of Ohio corporate sponsors includes McNichols Co., a national distributor of steel products that was founded in Cleveland; Cenweld Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of truck bodies and equipment throughout Ohio, based in Cuyahoga Falls; Safety Today, based in Columbus, Ohio, a provider of personal safety products and safety programs throughout the U.S. and Canada – www.safetytoday.com; and Cleveland Hard Facing, a leader in the development and application of high temperature metal alloys and ceramics as overlays on custom fabricated parts – www.clevelandhardfacing.com.
Check out www.rumanracing.com for updated photos of this season’s races including this weekend’s Cleveland Grand Prix.
Television – The Cleveland TA race will air on tape-delayed basis, Sunday, July 3 at 3 p.m. EST on SPEED Channel.
On Deck – Amy in GT-1 SCCA National at Watkins Glen, July 9-10.
www.rumanracing.com
www.McNichols.com
