For Immediate Release: September 9, 2011
Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell
Munroe Falls, OH – Trans-Am Series Rounds 7 and 8 this past Labor Day weekend at Brainerd International Raceway continued to be challenging for Amy Ruman and the Ruman Racing Team. The two-race weekend proved to be as busy as a schedule could be for the Trans-Am teams. Ruman had great qualifying rounds, placing the #23 McNichols Co./Goodyear/Cenweld Chevrolet Corvette 3rd on the grid for race 1 on Saturday and 2nd on the grid for race 2 on Sunday.
Race 1: Saturday afternoon’s race weather was picture perfect when the green flag flew. Ruman charged to the flag right on pole sitter Tony Ave’s bumper and got a great jump on Cliff Ebben the 2nd place qualifier, when suddenly Ebben made a move to tuck in behind Ave. The problem was that Ruman already held the spot and the two tangled up, sending them both off the track and into the woods. Ruman was able to get off the tire wall and continue to the pit lane. The crew checked over the car quickly during the double yellow flag condition and sent her back out fast enough to not go a lap down. The track stayed double yellow and they brought her in again to check the tires. One rear tire had a broken valve stem and needed to be changed. They sent her back out, but she was unable to completely catch the field when the green flag came back out. Ruman went to work, as she has often this season, setting her sights on the front. She made her way back through the field up to 5th place, but the backup, used rear tire the crew put on was not lasting and forced Ruman to pit again under green flag conditions. The crew changed the tire again and sent her back out, but she had lost most of the positions she gained earlier in the race. She made up a few more positions to take the checkered in 4th place and she posted the fastest race lap during the race.
Race 2: The team was able to make all the necessary repairs to the #23 McNichols Corvette from the mishap with Ebben on Saturday. What looked like another sunny raceday, turned into a rain filled afternoon. The skies opened up just before the start of Race 2 on Sunday. The Brainard officials tried to dry most of the track before the start of the race. Drivers took the green after a 2-pace lap single file start. Ave, Ruman, and Ebben were single file for lap 1 when Ave hit a slick spot and spun allowing Ruman to get by and take the lead. Ruman got in a rhythm posting a 4.5 to 5 second gap on Ebben in second place, with Ave over 20 seconds behind. Unfortunately the skies decided to open up again and the rain started to fall. Ave caught Ebben and Ruman to take the lead again. Ruman and Ebben both had spins and traded places a few times during the race, leaving Ave to win with Ebben in 2nd and Ruman in 3rd.
“When Tony spun right off the bat I thought, ‘OK, we have a good opportunity here’ and the track was pretty dry by then,” Ruman said. “We just set sail and just focused on trying to get as big a lead as possible because I knew he’d be coming back with a vengeance and I knew Cliff was behind me. So once it started raining I just tried to stay out as far as I could but it just started pouring and the track was real wet,” exclaimed Ruman. “I just don’t have a lot of experience in the rain, unfortunately. I think I’ve only had maybe two national races in the rain. It’s all finesse and it’s all about experience and kind of luck sometimes. All three of us spun today. Unfortunately, I just had one too many. That win slipped away from us again. I’m a little disappointed. I’m happy about third but I’m a little disappointed for McNichols and my guys. They work their tails off all weekend, but I’m happy with third at this point.”
With these finishes, Ruman has now moved into the fourth slot of the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Championship driver standings trailing third place David Jans by only 21 points. The team is scheduled to run the Trans-Am season finale at Road Atlanta, GA in a few weeks.
Sponsors: McNichols Co., headquartered in Tampa, FL, is the largest U.S. distributor of “Hole” products with service centers across North America. McNichols’ product selection is the most diverse in the industry. McNichols stocks perforated products, both metal and plastic. A toll free number 800-237-3820 connects you to the McNichols Co. distributor in your area and the company’s extensive website, www.mcnichols.com, has online customer service and online ordering. Goodyear Tire & Rubber is a Ruman Racing sponsor as well as the Series sponsor for Pro Spec Racer. Cenweld Corp., a well-established manufacturer and distributor of truck bodies and equipment throughout Ohio, is also long-time Ruman Racing sponsor.
For quick news and updates during race weekends, please follow Ruman Racing and the Trans-Am Series on Twitter @rumanracing and @TransAmSeries. Be sure to “Like” our official pages on Facebook: Ruman Racing, Amy Ruman (Official Fan Page), McNichols Company, and Trans-Am Racing.
UPCOMING RACES:
Sept. 28-30 – Amy Ruman in Round 9 SCCA Pro-Racing Trans-Am Series at Road Atlanta, GA
