Munroe Falls, Ohio – The Trans Am Series returned to the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle Park street circuit this past weekend, and it was a huge success as the fans saw two thrilling races. The TA/TA2/TA4 classes put on a show to remember in the Motor City 100 Duels, presented by the 3-Dimensional Services Group.
The unbelievable racing line-up at the Grand Prix featured not only the Trans Am Series, but also the Verizon IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks presented by TRAXXAS.
Ruman and the team bought the backup car to run this weekend, the original No. 23 McNichols Co. C5 Corvette. This machine now has logged 120 Trans Am starts between Ruman and her father Bob’s Trans Am career. Ruman was off to a fast start on Friday, with a 2nd place in morning practice. She fell back a bit to P6 in the qualifying session, in what was a super tight qualifying grid. She worked her way up in the Saturday morning race where she had a great battle with veteran and former TA Champion Greg Pickett. Ruman took the checkered in 4th place, just off the podium.
“That race was so fun!”, commented Ruman after race 1. “Detroit is such a challenging track and can be unforgiving at times. Pickett and I had an awesome battle going and we swapped positions several times until I finally broke away a bit. We are going to work on dialing in the set up for Sunday’s race.”
The team went to work immediately after the race and did just that, changed the set up around for Ruman to give her a better shot for the podium in Sunday’s race. Unfortunately, her race ended very early on the first lap when the left front lower control arm broke at the end of the back straightaway. “Such a bummer we broke right away. The McNichols 23 felt fast and I think we were going to have something for them today. This was a great event and hopefully we will be back next year and running for points,” remarked Ruman post-race 2.
Due to the tight turnaround time in-between races, the team opted to bring out the C5 for the Detroit races. The crew will get the primary car ready for Round 4 this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Ruman heads there as the current points leader in the TA class.
Don’t forget fans can tune in and catch all the action from the Motor City 100 races, brought to you by the 3-Dimensional Services Group! There will be a 90-minute broadcast special featuring both races on Saturday, July 2, 2016 on CBS Sports Network.
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/
