May 20, 2001 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (May 20, 2001)
Contact: Amy Ruman ph:330-923-9717
Ruman Garners 9th and Hard Charger Award at Mosport Trans-Am
OHIO: Amy Ruman is 7th at Nelson Ledges SCCA National
Bowmanville, Ontario — Bob Ruman continues his top-ten streak this season with a 9th place finish and he also earned Hard Charger of the Race award at the Mosport Trans-Am Series 125 today. Ruman is 9th in the Trans-Am Series points standings after Mosport. He was 10th at Sebring and 10th at Long Beach in April. “The Cenweld Corvette ran well in the race after having a tough time in practice and qualifying. The pit stop went smoothly and the team’s hard work paid off,” said Ruman.
Ruman started in 23rd after engine trouble in qualifying. He had a very good start and moved up to 18th on the first lap. “I was pretty aggressive and passed everywhere I could,” said Ruman. He moved up several more positions in the following laps. “I had two very close calls today. The first happened as I entered the long, back straightaway. A car had just blown a motor and there was an enormous cloud of smoke. I entered the smoke at 130mph and couldn’t even see the road. I went strictly by feel and at last I popped out of the smoke and was able to avoid the stopped car.”
Ruman was also very close to the fatal accident that happened on lap 38, which led to a 40 minute red flag while the drivers were air lifted to the hospital. “G.J. Mennen and I were racing hard as we exited turn one and came upon the accident just after it occurred. A huge cloud of dust covered the track and you couldn’t see anything-not even the track,” explained Ruman. “I prayed and shot left, G.J. went right. As I came through it, I saw the two crashed cars entwined to my right and at first I thought G.J. must have also gotten tangled in there, but somehow he managed to get through too. Our deepest sympathies go out to Mike’s [Gagliardo] family during this difficult time and we pray for a speedy recovery for Gary [Longo].”
When the race resumed for the final 11 laps (3 under yellow – ending with a 7 lap shoot out), Ruman dueled with Lazzarro and Said and finished 9th. He had advanced 13 places, which earned him the award and check for Hard Charger of the Race.
Amy Ruman Finishes 7th at Nelson Ledges
Amy Ruman qualified 6th at the Nelson Ledges SCCA Northeast National race today in the Cenweld Spec Racer Ford. She was forced off-track to avoid a spinning car in turn three on the first lap and hit one of the famous Nelson Ledges holes (yes, holes) which caused her to
lose ground to the rest of the field. She gave chase and was able to move back up to 7th by the checkered flag.
“I was very disappointed that we had a first lap incident” stated Ruman. “The field was so tight up front and I was looking forward to running a close race, but that didn’t happen today – I’ll take the 7th.”
Next Trans-Am race — Detroit, June 16
