May 10, 2006 – Contact: Amy Ruman
Munroe Falls, OH – Ruman Racing competed in the SCCA Nationals at Summit Point, WV on April 9 and New Hampshire International Speedway this past weekend. At those races, driver Amy Ruman captured both the pole positions and victories in the #23 McNichols/SafetyToday/Cenweld Corvette.
After qualifying in the rain at Summit Point, Ruman was on the pole for the race. The closest GT-1 competitor was Bill Thumel, who qualified in 7th place. Ruman led flag to flag with Thumel and Bill Rozmajzl trying to chase her down. They were unable to catch her and she won with a margin of 10.55 seconds.
“It was a relativity uneventful race for me, which sometimes can be nice! It was a great way to start off the 2006 season,” stated Ruman. “I’m also so pleased to have McNichols Co. and Safety Today return as sponsors this season.”
Ruman and the team headed up to New Hampshire this past weekend to compete in the second race of the season. Ruman set the pace in only her second lap of first-round qualifying on Saturday, subsequently losing the motor on the third lap. Her lap time held up though both rounds of qualifying placing her on the pole for the second race in a row.
“It was a good news and bad news day. The good news was that I was able to put together a great lap early, the bad news was that we had to change the motor and skip the second round of qualifying,” exclaimed Ruman. “I was sweating it out keeping tabs on everyone in the second round, but my time held for the pole.”
Race day dawned cool, but sunny. Amy Ruman, Bill Thumel, Jack Busch, and Bill Rozmajsl rounded out the top four in the nine car GT-1 field. Ruman had a good start, but Busch went low on NASCAR turns one and two heading into the banked oval. Ruman and Busch were side by side until turn four going up the hill. Ruman tucked behind Busch and settled in. On lap two, Ruman passed Busch low heading into turn two and made it stick with a clean pass heading into three. She then gradually built her lead on the field to 23 seconds and secured the win. She also set a new track record with a time of 1:03.90, beating previous record holder Bill Thumel’s time of 1:04.85. Ruman, Doug Valley, and Peter Mumford rounded out the top three.
“What a way to finish a tough weekend. I have to give all the credit to my crew for giving me such an awesome car after Saturday’s break. They worked so hard to make sure everything was perfect for me and it was! I’m thrilled to start the season with two pole positions and back to back wins.”
Next up: May 28: GT-1 National at Nelson’s Ledges Road Course, Ohio
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