Munroe Falls, Ohio – Round 11 at Circuit of the America’s (COTA) was a hard-fought fight down to the last laps of the race for Amy Ruman and team. Ruman snagged a 3rd place podium finish after trading first through third positions most of the race.
Ruman had another fantastic start from third place on the grid, taking an opportunity in turn one to overtake pole sitter Paul Fix for the lead. The pair went neck in neck through the turns and had a drag race down the back straight, where Fix took back first place. Ruman then settled into second place for much of the race, with not much breathing room from Ebben, Lopez, and Allegretta. They swapped positions from time to time and Ruman brought home a solid 3rd place finish.
“It really was an exciting, fantastic race here today,” stated Ruman. “However, I made a small mistake near the end of the race that cost us 2nd place. My crew had the No. 23 McNichols Chevrolet Corvette running really great, but unfortunately we just didn’t have the winning car this weekend.”
With the third-place finish at COTA, Ruman slipped to 2nd in the Championship points standings – just a mere eight points behind Paul Fix who had been chipping away at Ruman’s lead. “It’s anybody’s ball game right now and anything can happen in racing. We haven’t had the best season, with weird things happening in the second half of the season, but I’m going to carry our podium efforts from the last two races into Daytona. Look we are in it to win it all again, and I intend to fight to the very last lap,” exclaimed Ruman.
With one race remaining in 50th Anniversary Trans Am season, it will be sure to finish out as an historic one with one of the closest points chases in recent seasons. Teams are heading directly to the famous Daytona International Speedway for the faceoff finale this weekend.
Ruman heads to Daytona as the defending race winner from last year’s season finale and first female Trans Am Champion, something she is trying to accomplish once more. “We had some road blocks this season along the way, but we are not giving up on the idea of a back-to-back. It is not easy to duplicate the winning season we had last year with eight wins, but I’m hoping to add one more to my total this weekend and net enough points to capture a second Championship,” remarked Ruman.
59 overall entries are set for this weekend with 17 entered in the TA class. Teams can participate in a promoter’s test day on Thursday, November 10, 2016. Official practice and Trans Am “One Shot” qualifying will take place on Friday. Saturday will feature two Trans Am races. The final races or the 2016 Championship will start with the TA2 race at 8:30am followed by the TA/3/4 race at 1:20pm ET. Both races will be 103.24-miles, 29-laps on the 3.56 mile roval 20-turn road course. Visit gotransam.com for ticket, full schedule, and all other weekend information.
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/
