August 26, 2003 – Elkart Lake, WI – Bob Ruman started 14th in the 21-car field at Road America on Sunday and finished 14th after an incident three laps from the end of the race while running in 8th.
“Road America was challenging, as usual. The track conditions were constantly changing. Not only did we see a 20 degree variation in temperatures, but with the ALMS cars laying rubber on the track, the track itself became different each session,” explained Ruman. “We made progress through the race, had some good racing going up until the end of the race. With three laps to go, I was running hard up the front straight in eight when the ninth place car tried a move by going too deep into turn one, he got into me, and we both ended up off the track. I tried to continue, but the watts link was broken and I couldn’t make it around. It’s naturally very frustrating to end a promising top-10 run like that. The McNichols/Cenweld Corvette was running consistently and the end of the race was in sight. “
“It just continues to be a season of tough breaks. The team had worked late into the night on Saturday to get the car back together after I had a solo altercation with a tire wall in the final practice on Saturday. At the time, the car was just really loose and it’s possible something broke. But the crew gave me a decent car for the race and we had a viable plan to move up. It’s been tough to catch a break at Road America the last few races I’ve had here.”
Next up for Ruman Racing – Amy Ruman will pilot the #23 McNichols/Cenweld Corvette in the GT-1 Mid-Ohio National Memorial Day weekend and then compete in the SCCA Vavoline National Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio September 15-21. The GT-1 Run-Offs race is Sunday, September 21 at 1:30 pm and will be carried on Speed Channel (time & date TBA).
