Homestead, FL – After a great start to the 2014 season, Amy Ruman landed a third place podium finish last weekend at Sebring International Raceway in Round 1 of the Trans Am Championship. The Ruman team only had a few short days to get the No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette turned around and ready for Round 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida. The series has not made an appearance at Homestead since 1998.
Ruman and the team are looking to carry their momentum into this weekend’s race, with their sights set on getting a win. A change in the schedule structure will allow for even closer racing among the TA class, as the TA2 class will be broken away from TA and TA3 classes, and will have their own stand alone race. It would have been very crowded on the 2.18 mile course because Trans Am has logged another huge entry list for the event, last count showing fifty cars.
“I’m optimistic heading into Homestead race,” said Ruman. “We really had a good weekend at Sebring, the guys gave me a great car each session, and we were able to collect a ton of data on the new Hoosier Tires. We will be working on dialing the car in and tweaking set-ups.”
This will be Amy’s first time running the Homestead-Miami circuit, although father Bob ran the track a few times during his Trans Am career. Luckily for Ruman, she will have time to get a feel of the track on Thursday’s test day, in conjunction with the SVRA (Sports Car Vintage Racing Association) event.
Trans Am will first take to the track Friday for practice at 11:35 am, followed by a second practice later that afternoon at 4:15 pm. Then the series will have three separate qualifying sessions on Saturday. The first class to qualify will be TA at 11:25 am, followed by TA2 at 12:45 pm and TA3 at 1:15 pm.
Green flags are set to fly for both 46-lap (100.395 mile) races on Sunday, TA2 race at 1:30 pm, followed by the combined TA and TA3 race at 2:50 pm. All times listed are Eastern Standard.
Ruman will look to gain ground in the championship hunt this weekend as she travels to Homestead sitting third in the standings, just three points shy of second place and ten points out of first.
Sponsor: McNICHOLS Nationwide Service Centers is the nation’s largest distributor of Perforated and Expanded Metals; Wire Mesh; Bar, Plank, and Safety Gratings; Stair Treads; Matting; and more. Products are carried in all styles and materials–stocked for 24 hour shipment. “Inspired to Serve”™ 800.237.3820 mcnichols.com.
For quick news and updates during race weekends, please follow Ruman Racing and the Trans Am Series on Twitter: @rumanracing and @gotransam. Be sure to “Like” our official pages on Facebook: Ruman Racing, Amy Ruman (Official Fan Page), McNichols Company, and Go Trans Am.
Race Info/Scoring/Results: www.gotransam.com
Live Timing/Twitter Feed: www.gotransam.com/live-timing-and-scoring/
Looking ahead: Round 3 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA (May 10) || Round 4 – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bomanville, Ontario, Canada (May 17)
Ruman Racing, Inc., is based in Munroe Falls, Ohio.