Munroe Falls, Ohio – Heading to New Jersey Motorsports Park this past weekend for the MPT Fuel Systems Cleanse 100 Round 5 of the Trans Am Championship, Amy Ruman and the team were looking for a “3-Peat”, and they accomplished just that. Ruman has won all three Trans Am races ever held at the track, winning in 2012, 2014, and now 2015.
The weekend, however, did not start out as planned. During a hot, steamy, and humid weekend with temperatures in the 90’s, Ruman’s No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette faced some mechanical issues early on. The team worked tirelessly and vigorously throughout the Friday test day and after Saturday morning practice. Ruman ended up just missing the TA Fast 5 qualifying session due to work on those mechanical issues. Later in the day, though, she made the second practice session and was able to take advantage of the second chance qualifying session. Ruman topped the charts in both sessions, 1st in practice session two and securing 6th on the grid for the race. Her time would have been good enough for 2nd had it been during the “Fast 5” qualifying session, but it could only place her as high as 6th with the top five already locked in.
On Sunday, the defending race winner took to the track for the race in 6th position. Ruman was set and ready to go, when on the pace lap she radioed to the crew that she had lost the power steering. They called her into pit lane as the green flag flew for the field. As soon as Ruman committed to pit lane, she radioed the team again saying the power steering inexplicably came back! She rejoined the track, but about 20 seconds behind the field.
It was almost an eerie repeat of the Lime Rock race with Ruman dropping to last place on the first lap, she again would have her work cut out for her. She immediately went to work slicing through the field. Ruman had moved up to fourth place by lap 14 when a full course caution came out. After the restart, Ruman eventually overtook Baucom and Peterson slotting into 2nd. On lap 25, Ruman took the lead from Fix as the two battled. After another caution and restart, Ruman never looked back, gapping 2nd place by 12 seconds plus at times. Ruman took the checkered after another impressive comeback to the podium, followed by Fix in 2nd, and Peterson in 3rd.
“It was a tough weekend,” remarked Ruman. “As soon as we got here, we were immediately working through mechanical issues; the crew worked hard to try and get us out for Fast 5 qualifying, but we unfortunately missed the deadline by five minutes. We went out, qualified in the second chance session, and put down a lap that would have been second on the grid if we had done it in the main session. I just couldn’t be happier with this team; they go out and bust their butts for me day in and day out and this one goes to them for getting the car together and getting us back out.”
“Of course as soon as we go out, the power steering failed on the pace lap. I went in to pit, and it miraculously came back on—something must have been stuck in the pump. So we gambled and went back out; so I just buckled down and picked them off one at a time—luckily we came out with a solid win today.”
When asked about the NJMP track: “I think we just gel here,” said Ruman. “It’s a lot like the tracks I grew up driving in autocross—my dad has the setup dialed in here and engineered the car perfectly for the track. We know where our strong spots are and we capitalized on them where others might not have the best handling cars, so we’ve made it work. We’ve gone three out of three here, and I couldn’t be prouder or happier to say that.”
With this victory, Ruman remains undefeated at the New Jersey Thunderbolt track, and also set a new track record during the race laying down a fast lap of 1:18.547. She has now won four out of five Trans Am races in 2015, a near perfect record. Ruman maintains the lead in the points standing with a total 159, Fix is second with 148, and Peterson moves into third with a total of 115.
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/
Ruman Racing, Inc., is based in Munroe Falls, Ohio.
