TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 21, 2009) – The SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series will join the NASCAR Nationwide Series for its recently announced event at Road America, June 18 – 20.

Following the announcement that the Nationwide Series will add a third road race to its schedule when it heads to Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on June 18 – 20, the Trans-Am Series is pleased to announce that it will join the bill for the Road America 200 weekend.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series,” SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger said. “NASCAR puts on a spectacular show and brings with it a strong and dedicated fan base. The thunderous racing that is Trans-Am will fit in well with the Nationwide Series. I anticipate our Trans-Am fans will witness some great racing over the weekend.”

The Trans-Am Series is tentatively scheduled to practice on Friday, qualify before Saturday’s Nationwide race and close out the weekend by headlining Sunday’s events.

“We’re thrilled that Trans-Am will be a part of the Road America 200 weekend lineup,” Road America President George Bruggenthies said. “Trans-Am has been a big part of Road America’s history and will continue to be as it joins us for our first Nationwide event.”

Now entering its 43rd season, Trans-Am has held more races at Road America than any other track. The series has made the trip to Elkhart Lake, Wis., for 36 consecutive years (1970 – 2005) and returned in 2009.

While the 2009 Trans-Am season concluded at Road America, in 2010, the four-mile track slots in between events at Miller Motorsports Park and Lime Rock Park. Eight races of the planned 10-race schedule have now been announced.

2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series Schedule

Date Venue With
May 8 – 9 New Jersey Motorsports Park Headliner
Millville, N.J.
May 21 – 23 Mosport International Raceway Co-Headliner with World Challenge
Bowmanville, Ont. (Canada)
June 5 – 6 Miller Motorsports Park Headliner
Tooele, Utah
June 18 – 20 Road America NASCAR Nationwide Series
Elkhart Lake, Wis.
July 2 – 3 Lime Rock Park NASCAR Camping World Series
Lakeville, Conn.
July 18 – 20 Streets of Toronto Indy Racing League
Toronto, Ont. (Canada)
Sept. 4 – 5 Brainerd International Raceway Headliner
Brainerd, Minn.
Sept. 11 – 12 VIRginia International Raceway Co-Headliner with World Challenge
Alton, Va.

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Article posted from www.sccatrans-am.com:

TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 10, 2009) – Speaking at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando, Fla., SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger today announced schedule and staffing plans for the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series, including two additional race weekends.

As part of an SCCA Pro Racing press conference, it was revealed that Trans-Am will make its first appearance at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park in 2010, headlining the June 5 – 6 weekend. The following month, Trans-Am will return to the streets of Toronto for the first time since 2005. The series will race alongside the Indy Racing League and World Challenge Championships during the Honda Indy Toronto, July 18 – 20.

“It is a pleasure to have the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series back at the Honda Indy Toronto with all the rich history and tradition it brings,” Honda Indy Toronto Vice President and General Manager Charlie Johnstone said. “With two SCCA Pro Racing series now rounding out the 2010 lineup, we’re poised to have the best on-track racing in the history of the event.”

Combined with the five events announced in November, the 2010 Trans-Am schedule currently shapes up as follows

Date Venue With
May 8 – 9 New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, N.J.
Headliner

May 21 – 23 Mosport International Raceway – Bowmanville, Ont. (Canada)
Co-Headliner

June 5 – 6 Miller Motorsports Park – Tooele, Utah
Headliner

July 2 – 3 Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, Conn.
NASCAR Camping World Series

July 18 – 20 Honda Indy Toronto – Toronto, Ont. (Canada)
Indy Racing League

Sept. 4 – 5 Brainerd International Raceway – Brainerd, Minn.
Headliner

Sept. 11 – 12 VIRginia International Raceway – Alton, Va.
Co-Headliner

“We’ve now released seven dates for what we expect to be a 10-race schedule in 2010,” Wildberger said. “With this schedule, the profile of Trans-Am will increase exponentially, as the series will either headline or join a major racing entity for every event. It’s something the entire SCCA Pro Racing staff has put a lot of work into; creating a high-profile schedule that satisfies our competitors and our sponsors.”

Wildberger noted that the schedule isn’t the only thing expanding for the upcoming Trans-Am season.

“With the series now fully incorporated under the SCCA Pro Racing umbrella, we’re currently building a staff dedicated solely to Trans-Am. Our SCCA Pro Racing family continues to grow and Trans-Am will be a large part of it. Stayed tuned, there’s more to come.”

More information on the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series is available at www.sccatrans-am.com and on Twitter @TransAmSeries.

TOPEKA, Kan. (Nov. 24, 2009) – SCCA Pro Racing today announced five dates for the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series calendar. Ten dates are anticipated for the rejuvenated series’ 43rd season. Trans-Am will headline numerous race weekends in 2010, all at North America’s most storied road courses.

Trans-Am will race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., for the first time in 2010. The series will headline the May 8 – 9 weekend.

Shortly thereafter, the series travels north of the border to Mosport International Raceway on May 21 – 23. Trans-Am will co-headline the Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend at the Bowmanville, Ont. track with SPEED World Challenge.

Trans-Am returns to Lime Rock Park July 2 – 3 for the first time since 2003. Trans-Am will meet up with the NASCAR Camping World Series in Lakeville, Conn., on July 2 – 3.

Trans-Am will also headline the Sept. 4 – 5 weekend at Brainerd International Raceway. It will be the first time since 1989 that Trans-Am has made the trip to the 3.1-mile road course located in central Minnesota.

The 2010 Trans-Am season will conclude in Alton, Va., at VIRginia International Raceway. The series will co-headline the Sept. 11 – 12 weekend with SPEED World Challenge.

“We’re making great strides with the new Trans-Am Series,” SCCA Pro Racing President & CEO Robert Wildberger said. “After a transitional season last year, the series is making progress toward achieving its previous stature by headlining several events in 2010. We’re especially excited about the all SCCA Pro Racing weekend at VIR in September. We’ll have more details on that front soon.”

2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series Schedule

May 8 – 9
New Jersey Motorsports Park (Headliner)
Millville, N.J.

May 21 – 23
Mosport International Raceway (Co-Headliner)
Bowmanville, Ont. (Canada)

July 2 – 3
Lime Rock Park (NASCAR Camping World Series)
Lakeville, Conn.

Sept. 4 – 5
Brainerd International Raceway (Headliner)
Brainerd, Minn.

Sept. 11 – 12
VIRginia International Raceway (Co-Headliner)
Alton, Va.

Five more rounds will be announced at a later date to bring the total to 10. The latest Trans-Am news can be found at www.sccatrans-am.com and on Twitter @TransAmSeries.

The 2009 GT-1 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Race video at Road America, WI has been posted to the SpeedcastTV.com website.

Watch Amy Ruman’s race and post race interview here: http://www.speedcasttv.com/scca/#/races/96

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell

Munroe Falls, OH – The 2009 racing season has officially come to a close for Amy Ruman and the Ruman Racing team. During the ten long days in Elkhart Lake, WI, Ruman and the team had many ups and downs at Road America which began with the Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am season finale.

The Trans-Am race was September 20th. During qualifying, Ruman had a car problem on lap 1 and had to pit. While the crew was able to work out the problem, the session was red flagged due to an on-track incident. When the track went green, Ruman set out to get in a good lap when another red flag occurred and the session was halted again, leaving Ruman with no qualifying time. Worrying that the session would expire, she waited at pit out. Luckily, race control said there would be enough time for one out lap and one hot lap before the session was over, so Ruman zoomed out and was able to lay down a one lap qualifier scoring her 6th spot on the grid! In the race, Ruman had a great start and edged out Cliff Ebben by turn one, advancing her to 5th and running tight with the lead pack. That would be short lived, and on lap five she lost the engine on the back straight.

“It was a huge disappointment to lose that engine,” stated Ruman. “I was going to run the same engine for the Runoffs race because it was the only 358 in our stable.”

Following the Trans-am race on Sunday, the week-long 46th annual running of the famed SCCA National Championship Runoffs began from Sept. 21-27th. The SCCA Runoffs brings together the top national drivers from across the country to compete for the title of National Champion in their respective car classes. Only those who place in the top-10 in their Division points standings are eligible to compete. Ruman ran her familiar #23 McNichols/Goodyear/Cenweld Chevrolet Corvette in her seventh appearance at the Runoffs.

The GT-1 class only saw a completely dry track on the last qualifying session, where Ruman drove hard to put herself 7th in the starting lineup. She was one of the only cars in the field running a smaller 310 cubic inch engine, while most of the drivers in the field ran the bigger horsepower 358 engines. If she had qualified with the same time that she qualified with for the Trans-Am race, she would have qualified in the second spot for the Runoffs race.

The field took the green flag and Ruman found herself in trouble quickly. By turn five, the field bottlenecked and slowed into the corner. Ruman cut to the inside for a shot up the inside of the hill to turn six, but caught the wrong gear and dropped three spots to 10th. While in a dogfight back to the front of the pack, Ruman and the #3 car driven by Kyle Kelley were side by side coming out of turn 7. Kelley did not cut Ruman any slack and moved over hitting the #23 and forcing her into the grass. Ruman regained control and had to tuck in behind him.

The two of them moved up through the pack, all the while Ruman right on Kelley’s bumper. Ruman made several attempts to pass, but could not get it done. On the final lap of the race the two had a wicked battle for fourth spot. Ruman pulled alongside of Kelley’s Camaro in the last turn of the track, the two touched and went spinning. Both drivers got going again and held on to 4th and 5th slots respectively, having built enough of a lead over 6th position.

“What can I say, I have mixed emotions about that race,” exclaimed Ruman. “I was so mad at myself when I hit the wrong gear coming out of turn 5 because I knew I would be behind the eight ball if any of the guys got in front of me on this horsepower track. I just don’t have the torque they do coming off the corners with the 310 motor. I had quite a battle going with Kelley, and I just couldn’t get any of my passes to stick. Unfortunately, he didn’t give me a whole lot of room when I did get beside him and I think that was a way for him to insure that I wouldn’t get past him. I was happy to finally get a solid top-five finish again at the Runoffs, but disappointed that I didn’t have the motor for a podium.”

“I want to send a heartfelt thank you out to all of my sponsors, McNichols Co., Goodyear, and Cenweld for another great season of racing. Without them, I could not do what I love to do!”

Starting Oct. 4th, on demand coverage of all the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® races from Road America will be available view again on the internet through www.SpeedcastTV.com.

Remember, for all race weekend updates and quick news, you can now follow the Ruman Racing team online at:http://twitter.com/rumanracing.

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