July 07, 2004 – Munroe Falls, OH – Bob Ruman hit the ground running at the Motorock Trans-Am Series, Cleveland Grand Prix last weekend. The Munroe Falls, Ohio based driver was one of the fastest drivers throughout practice and qualifying leading up to the July 2 race. Ruman was in the “Fast Five” on Thursday, qualifying 5th.

After a clean start through the infamous turn one, Ruman raced closely with Pickett, Baucom, and Scarallo. Then, Ruman’s race ended early on lap 13 when he found the concrete barrier in turn eight. Ruman was not hurt, but the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette suffered severe damage to the driver’s side of the car.

“My team worked very hard and gave me an exceptionally great car this weekend. We were right on. Cleveland is our home track and we were eager to do well for the hometown fans,” said Ruman. “I was so disappointed for my team, my sponsors, and my fans that our race ended early. Turn eight was giving everyone problems all weekend long, and I did the same thing Paul Gentilozzi did on Thursday, turned in a little too early and the new asphalt they laid just pushed us right out to the edge of the track. Unfortunately, I just ran out of road”

The Motorock Trans-Am Series heads to Toronto July 10-11 for the next round. Ruman’s next race will be the Trois-Riviers Grand Prix as the team is running a limited schedule for the 2004 season.

On Deck – Bob Ruman at Trans-Am Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix, August 1

www.rumanracing.com

July 01, 2004 – GT-1 driver Amy Ruman is featured in the Local section of the Akron Beacon Journal today. The artical is based on her recent race at BeaveRun. You can veiw the arcitle on thier website under the Local section titled – Fast-track Family.

Following is the direct link:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/local/9054056.htm?1c

www.rumanracing.com

June 30, 2004 – Munroe Falls, OH – Ohio native Bob Ruman will hit the track this weekend in his 9th consecutive year of competition at the Motorock Trans-Am Series at the Cleveland Grand Prix Fourth of July weekend. The U.S. Bank Presents the Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport is round 4 in the Motorock Trans-Am Series. This will be Ruman’s second Trans-Am race of the season–he finished 12th at Long Beach in April after being caught in a first lap incident. Ruman has been a regular in the Trans-Am Series for nine years and has raced in a variety of racing series in his career, all from his home base of Munroe Falls, Ohio.

“My team has been diligently preparing the car for this event and we cannot be more excited to race again at Cleveland this year,” said Ruman. “This is often an endurance race and every year it has a different twist. We hope this year the twist will be a podium finish for our team! I am always looking forward to this race, it’s my hometown venue and the Cleveland based fans really know how to Rock and Roll!”

“Our steadfast Northeast Ohio sponsors have returned with us this year for the Cleveland race. 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.”

The Burke Lakefront airport will be the circuit for this venue, a 2.106-mile, 10-turn course, set up on airport runways. The Trans-Am Series will take the track on Thursday July 1 for practice and qualifying, and the Motorock Trans-Am race will start at 5:00pm on Friday July 2.

On Deck – Bob Ruman at Trans-Am Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix,
August 1
www.rumanracing.com
www.McNichols.com

June 24, 2004 – Beaver Falls, PA – The Ruman Team was busy last weekend at the SCCA BeaveRun Nationals, fielding Amy Ruman in the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette in GT-1 and Niki Ruman in Spec Racer. Coming off of her win two weeks ago at the GT-1 Mid-Ohio National, Amy was geared up for another victory.

On Saturday, Amy looked to be dominant in the GT-1 race after posting a qualifying time of 55.9 under the track record, and more than half a second faster than the second place qualifier. In the final minutes of qualifying, Amy had the number 23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette on a hot lap when she crested the pit-straight hill and entered turn one, a rather blind turn. She exited the turn just as Bob Thummel’s GT-2 Porsche had spun in the middle of the track and was facing opposite race direction. While Ruman swerved to avoid the car, slowing from 80 mph to 53 mph in .7 seconds (based on the data), there was not time to completely avoid the nearly head-on crash. Both cars sustained severe damage. Ruman was transported to the local hospital and released with a severely sprained right ankle. Due to both Ruman’s injury and the damage to the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette, Ruman did not race on Sunday.

“I was so disappointed this happened because I was going for a second win this season. This was just so unfortunate for both of us. My data showed that the impact was between 7-8 g-forces. I am really happy that no one was seriously hurt in the incident. We hit so hard that I thought I broke my ankle, but the x-rays show just a sprain. Hopefully, I will be back in action for the National at Watkins Glen in July,” stated Ruman.

Ruman’s local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal was in attendance this weekend writing a feature story about Ruman, the team, and her family. The story is to run on either Sunday, June 27 or early next week. You can also access the Akron Beacon Journal online at www.ohio.com/mld/ohio.

Niki Ruman had a great weekend, qualified and finished 10th in the 24-car spec racer field. “I had a fun race, dueling primarily with Ray Senkevich and Gregory Grucella for 9th, 10th, and 11th. The three of us were back and forth, drafting and weaving our way through traffic. We had a very competitive, clean race. I tried very hard to get a run on Ray the final lap, but just couldn’t make it stick up the hill to the checkered,” explained Niki.

On Deck: Bob Ruman at the July 1-2 Trans-Am Series at the Cleveland Grand Prix, OH
Amy Ruman at the July 10-11 SCCA National at Watkins Glen International, NY

www.rumanracing.com

June 08, 2004 – Munroe Falls, OH – After four second places in a row, Amy Ruman finally sealed the deal at the GT-1 Mid-Ohio National this past weekend. This was her first win of the 2004 season in the number 23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette. Ruman was on the pole in Saturday morning’s qualifier, but was bumped to third in the afternoon. The weather cooperated and it was a beautiful 75-degree weekend.

In the eleven car GT-1 field, Trevor Hopwood secured the pole, Phil Lasco was second, Amy Ruman was third, and Tom Sloe started fourth. Ruman slipped to fourth at the start of the race, as the top four GT-1 cars pulled away from the field. About three laps in, Lasco and Hopwood tangled holding up Sloe at the exit of the keyhole, and Ruman weaved through to take the lead. From that point, Ruman led Sloe laps 3-12. Lap 13 Sloe got by Ruman at the end of the back straight. She stayed right with him and on lap 17 Ruman repassed Sloe in the keyhole. She put a little distance on him and took the checkered flag on lap 20 for the win. Ruman’s margin of victory was 1.864 seconds and she scored the second fastest race lap.

“Wow, what a race! I finally got that win I have been working towards all year. Sloe and I were dicing it out through the field; it was just an awesome time. My engine was running on seven cylinders about halfway through the race, so I wasn’t sure if the motor was going to hold up for me, but it did! Toward the end of the race, both Sloe and I had loose handling cars. Although Sloe had an advantage down the straight because of my motor, the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette was in better shape in the turns, and I was able to secure the win,” stated Ruman.

“I am just so happy for the Ruman Racing Team this weekend. My guys gave me a great car and my Dad gave me a stellar set-up on Goodyear tires which got me to the checkered flag first. It was a well deserved win for the team, and I couldn’t have done it without them!”

This was Ruman’s sixth National for the 2004 season. She is currently leading the GT-1 Northeast Division with 48 points.

On Deck: Amy Ruman at the June 19-20: SCCA National at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex, PA