Munroe Falls, Ohio – After a perfect holiday weather weekend for Round 5 of the 2016 Trans Am Championship at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) in the Ryan Companies Independence Day Classic, Ruman’s race and outcome did not go as planned.
Ruman had her sights set for back-to-back wins at Brainerd this past weekend, but an early race incident took its toll on the No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette. After a shortened qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, Ruman (01:28.599) placed 2nd on the grid just shy of Cliff Ebben (01:28.272) the pole sitter.
The green flag flew and Ruman took the hole shot at the starting line leading the pack into turn 3, Ebben snuck inside on the entry and the two went side-by-side. Ebben came out first and Ruman lost a bit of traction on exit. Ruman tried to take a look and make a move inside of Ebben going into turn four and that’s when David Pintaric decided to join the fun, making a late pass on Ruman. The two tangled with some contact while fighting over the same real estate as Pintaric got by. Unfortunately, in the immediate aftermath, Ruman and Vincent Allegretta (in 4th) came together and went off course. They both got going right away. A few laps later, a TA4 competitor’s crash brought out a full course caution, followed by a red flag that forced the field to stop on the front straight and turn their engines off due to repairs being made to the track barrier from the incident.
After racing resumed with 61 mins left on the clock, Ruman immediately put her head down and went to work making her way through the field. Ruman suddenly saw smoke from the front of the car and radioed to the crew that she had lost her power steering. The earlier contact had caused a rupture of a pressure line in the power steering. Ruman tried to tough it out for a few laps hoping for another full course caution, but was forced to pit. The crew replaced the line that had sustained damage, and she rejoined the race 4 laps down. She was able to make up several spots netting her a 9th place finish in the TA class.
“Ahhhhh what a tough day for us. The McNichols 23 was really fast today and I think we were the car to beat once again. I set the second fastest race lap, and once the car was repaired I was running as fast as the leaders. Unfortunately, I got caught up in some racing contact, and later the power steering failed. But, you know what they say, that’s racing, we will get them next time. I’m looking forward to Mid-Ohio, my home track, and getting back to winning the next round,” stated Ruman. “I just want to give another shout out to all of our US military and all they do for us day after day, I hope they had a really good Independence Day!”
Ruman is still in command of the TA class points lead despite the disappointing outcome at Brainerd. In the tight Championship battle, Ruman is in first with 137 points, Cliff Ebben moves back into second with 110, followed by David Pintaric who slips to third with 107. Paul Fix moves up to fourth with 102 and Kerry Hitt drops to fifth with 99. Next up will be the First Energy Muscle Car Challenge & The Trans Am 100 Trans Am Championship – Round 6 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course August 11 – 13, 2016.
Fans will also be able to see both races from Ryan Companies Independence Day Classic at Brainerd International Raceway, which will be tape delayed and broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The TA/3/4/5 race will air on Saturday, July 23, 12:00 p.m. and the TA2 race will air Sunday, July 31st at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Sponsor: McNICHOLS CO. 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/
