September 27, 2004 – Munroe Falls, OH – The SCCA Runoffs are always challenging for every competitor that attends. The competition is fierce and both car and driver need to be at the top of their game at all times. Amy Ruman battled a few car problems during the qualifying runs this past week, and came down with a sinus infection on Thursday, which she battled throughout the rest of the weekend. She secured a starting position of 6th for the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette in the 22 car field. But the race did not go according to Ruman’s plan as a small brush between competitors led to bigger complications.
By the time Ruman reached the front straight on lap one, she heard part of the header break off causing the exhaust to pour into the cockpit of the car and the sound level became very, very loud.
“It was terrible. When that header broke it was like a heat wave of exhaust fumes, I could barely breathe. There was no air movement in the cockpit of the car so I flipped on the defrost blowers to try to get some air moving around. When the header broke apart the engine immediately lost significant horsepower, so I would often be fast in the corners, but at loss for power in the straightaways. At first it wasn’t too bad and I tried to concentrate on passing Mohrhauser. We eventually got tangled up and dropped back a position each. Toward the end of the race it was all I could do to drive around, I was getting asphyxiated. I was just glad I was able to maintain 9th and finish the race. After the checkered, I pulled into the pits and couldn’t even get myself out of the car. Medical gave me oxygen and pumped an IV into me because I was so sick from those fumes,” exclaimed Ruman.
“It was such an unfortunate circumstance, because the car was the best it had been all week and I was hooked up right away. I really think if I had had my normal horsepower-and had my wits about me-I could have moved up in the pack. I really feel bad for my team; we worked hard for a podium finish! At least we still finished in the top ten. I want to thank my sponsors McNichols Co., Cenweld Corp. and Goodyear for this great 2004 season, I am already looking forward to next year!”
Television coverage of the entire 2004 SCCA Kohler Runoffs will be aired on SPEED Channel. All races will be tape delayed with coverage starting November 20. The GT-1 race is scheduled to air Saturday, December 11 at 3:00pm EDT. For more schedule information, visit www.speedtv.com or www.scca.com
McNichols Co. is a national distributor of steel products, founded in Cleveland, with service centers around the country. Cenweld Corp. is a well-established manufacturer and distributor of truck bodies and equipment throughout Ohio and is based in Cuyahoga Falls.
www.rumanracing.com
www.McNichols.com
