June 23, 2005 – Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell

VETERAN TRANS-AM DRIVER BOB RUMAN HANDS REIGNS TO DAUGHTER
Ohio Based Team with Local Sponsorship has longtime presence in Northeast Ohio

Munroe Falls, OH – Ruman Racing will field Amy Ruman in the “Trans-Am on the Tarmac” Cleveland Grand Prix this weekend in the #23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette. This will be Ruman’s first Trans-Am event. Ruman has been the team’s lead driver this season in what has been, up until this weekend, a season exclusively focused on SCCA National level races. Ruman has had an extremely strong season in GT-1 thus far with two victories, three pole positions, two third places in efforts throughout the Northeast. Ruman currently leads the Northeast Division GT-1 National points race. Ruman is on a roll, coming off a win last Sunday at the BeaveRun National in Pennsylvania.

Although this is Ruman’s first effort driving in a Trans-Am race, she is no stranger to Trans-Am competition. Her father, Bob Ruman, is a long-time Trans-Am competitor, with 95 starts in the Series. Bob Ruman had planned to race at Cleveland, but a recent minor injury has sidelined him.

“Although I am disappointed that I am unable to race this weekend, we are very lucky that the team has the perfect driver ready to step in for me,” stated Bob Ruman. “Amy has been really gelling with the car, especially this season. She now has several seasons of GT-1 experience under her belt and two very good races at the Run-Offs and I know she’s ready for a run at Trans-Am.”

“I am thrilled to be racing at Cleveland this weekend,” said Ruman. “For my first Trans-Am race to be right in our backyard is even more exciting. The McNichols/Cenweld Corvette has been great all season and the crew and I have really been dialing in the set-up. I know most of the competitors in Trans-Am and have raced against a few of them in the past.”

The Trans-Am Series will take the track on Friday June 24 for practice and qualifying, and the Trans-Am on the Tarmac race will start at 3:30pm on Saturday, June 25. Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront airport will be the circuit for this venue, a 2.106-mile, 10-turn course, set up on airport runways.

Ruman’s major sponsor is McNichols Co., a national distributor of steel products that was founded in Cleveland and now is headquartered in Tampa, Florida with service centers around the country, including Cleveland. Another longtime sponsor is Cenweld Corp., a well-established manufacturer and distributor of truck bodies and equipment throughout Ohio, based in Cuyahoga Falls.

Television – Saturday’s race will air on tape-delayed basis, Sunday, July 3 at 3 p.m. EST on SPEED Channel.

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June 20, 2005 – Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell

Munroe Falls, OH – What a weekend for Amy Ruman and the Ruman Racing team. Ruman, driving the #23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette, took her third pole in a row. Ruman posted the fastest time in the morning practice session and solidified the pole position in the afternoon qualifying session with a quick time of 55.077 seconds, beating the existing GT-1 track record of 56.418 seconds.

Out of the eight car GT-1 line-up, the first two rows in Sunday’s race were Ruman, Bret Moyer, William Rozmajzi, and Bill Thumel. The green flag fell and Ruman and Moyer took off. They were side-by-side down the front straight, through turns one and two, when Ruman took the lead going into turn three. Ruman lead lap one with Moyer right on her tail. Moyer passed Ruman under braking into turn 1 on the second lap. Ruman fell in behind and the chase was on. Moyer created some distance, but Ruman kept him in sight. Ruman closed the gap up and they ran nose to tail about 13 laps.

On lap 21, the two caught some lapped traffic, Moyer washed out a bit coming out of turn 5, Ruman ducked to the inside and they ran side-by-side up the hill. Ruman made the pass at the top of the hill to take the lead. Ruman created some distance from Moyer, who was then in the hunt. With about four laps to go, something went amiss with Ruman’s transmission. She lost 2nd gear and was forced to use 3rd, 4th, and 5th for the remaining laps, which slowed her times down. Her lead shrunk to about 2 seconds by the final lap; but Moyer spun on the downhill trying to catch Ruman. Ruman took the checkered for her second win this season, Moyer finished 2nd, and Bill Thumel was 3rd.

“That was an unbelievable race!” stated Ruman. “Bret and I were really dicing it out. We raced flag to flag with no breaks at all. The speed and time difference was astounding with the GT-2’s, GT-3’s, and A Sedans mixed into our group. I felt like we were in a video game just slicing through cars lap after lap. At the end, there were only three of us on the lead lap; everyone else was two or more laps down.”

“Bret and I both agreed that was one of the best races we’d ever been in. Bret got the track record though, with a 55.174 so my hats off to him. My best time was a 55.746, but I just couldn’t find my qualifying time in the race again. Oh well, I’ll take the win! My crew has really dialed in great set-ups for the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette the past three races, I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The National Northeast point’s race is really heating up, with Ruman back in the lead with 38 points, Hopwood in 2nd with 36, and Canney in 3rd with 24.

Next Up – July 9-10: SCCA GT-1 National at Watkins Glen, NY

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June 08, 2005 – Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell

Munroe Falls, OH – Another fabulous weather weekend started off great for the Ruman Racing team at hometown track Mid-Ohio. Amy Ruman in the #23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette was fastest in both qualifying sessions and secured her second pole position of the 2005 season.

The incredibly competitive nine car GT-1 lineup for the weekend included Ruman, Trevor Hopwood, Don Soenen, Phil Lasco, Mike Canney, Csaba Bujdoso, Dick Greer, Don Parish, and Al Gaudio. Unfortunately, Hopwood broke a motor in qualifying and was unable to get the car fixed for the race. Soenen got Ruman on the start of the race, and Ruman tucked into 2nd place close behind him. On the third lap, something broke in Ruman’s motor heading into the keyhole, taking her out of the race. Lasco, in his new red mustang, caught up to Soenen, but later also broke. Soenen led flag to flag, with Canney taking second and Greer in third.

“I am so disappointed,” stated Ruman. “I was hoping to have back-to-back wins after Nelson’s last week. I won this race last year and I thought I was on my way to a repeat after qualifying in 1st. We later found out that a rocker arm broke and that’s what did it. I really thought Soenen and I were going to have a great battle, but that’s racing! Congrats to him and his team on a great win.”

The National Northeast points race continues to be tight, with Canney taking the lead at 31, Ruman in second with 26, and Hopwood in 3rd with 24. Ruman will be skipping the next Northeast National at Lime Rock this coming weekend, but is planning to run the NE National at BeaveRun the following weekend.

Next Up – June 18-19: SCCA GT-1 National BeaveRun Motorsports Park, PA

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June 02, 2005 – Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell

Munroe Falls, OH – What a weekend it was for the Ruman Racing team this past weekend at the nearby Nelson’s Ledges Race Course. Amy Ruman grabbed the pole in the morning qualifier with a time of 1:04.868 with Frank Cioppettini in second with a 1:06.281. The weather turned with an afternoon rain shower about 20 minutes before the second qualifier was to begin, soaking the track. Ruman did not attempt the session, as times would not improve.

The weekend had a GT-1 field of 7 cars, with Ruman, Cioppettini, and Sloe rounding out the top three finishers in the race. Ruman set the fastest race lap at 1:04.765 leading all 23 laps of the race.

“Finally a win! I have been waiting for this all season, and our team was due. It was a great weather day and good racing conditions. I got Frank on the start, and just checkout after that. Midway through the race, someone blew a motor, oiling the track down the back straight, and that really slowed our times down,” stated Ruman.

“I am hoping to take this momentum with me down to another home track, Mid-Ohio, this weekend. The crew has dialed in a great set-up on the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette in the last few races so I am confident we will be quick.”

Next Up – June 4-5: SCCA GT-1 National Mid-Ohio Road Course, OH

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May 05, 2005 – Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell

Munroe Falls, OH – It wasn’t the nicest weather weekend for the New Hampshire SCCA National this past weekend, but Amy Ruman managed to grab 3rd place in her first GT-1 rain race. Ruman had only one dry qualifying session on Saturday, and was able to qualify 4th after having to pit to fix a small problem.

The GT-1 field had 11 cars, with the top five rounding out Hopwood, Busch, Ruman, Seward, and B. Mumford.

“Well, that was an interesting race! We all would have rather raced under dry conditions, but I am glad to finally have a GT-1 rain race under my belt. I had a good time and it’s always fun to race against Trevor and Jack,” exclaimed Ruman. “We’ll take the podium finish and I am still happy for the team. I am looking forward to Memorial Day weekend and racing at my home track, Nelson Ledges.”

Next Up – May 28-29: SCCA GT-1 National Nelson Ledges, OH

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