Sebring, FL – The 2014 season got off to a solid start for Amy Ruman and the Ruman Racing team this past weekend at the Trans Am Series opening round at Sebring International Raceway.
Ruman was off to a fast paced weekend topping the charts in first driving the No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette during the second practice session Friday and Sunday morning warm-up. The weekend weather was picture perfect, but Saturday qualifying brought a bit of heat and a slightly slippery track. Ruman qualified fourth on the grid for Sunday’s race.
The massive 49 car field took to the track at 2:45 pm on Sunday for the 27-lap (100.98-mile) race. When the green flag flew, Ruman (4th) was off to a great start passing Cliff Ebben (3rd) and Simon Gregg (2nd) into turn one. Ruman settled in behind pole sitter Doug Peterson, with Ebben not far behind. An early caution came out for the field, but only slowed the race for three laps. After the restart, the course stayed green for the rest of the race. The order remained Peterson, Ruman, and Ebben. When the leaders started getting into the TA2 and TA3 traffic, things got a bit spread out. Ebben gained on Ruman, and made his move into second place in turn 17 with seven laps to go in the race. Ruman pursued and took the checkered in third.
“What a fantastic start to the season,” stated Ruman. “I had a really great start and ran second almost the whole race, but unfortunately the lapped traffic hurt me, and allowed Cliff (Ebben) to gain on me. The handling fell off a bit at the end, which didn’t help, and Cliff was able to get a run on me on the back straight and passed me into turn 17. After that I just couldn’t get him back. I have to thank McNichols Company and my amazing crew for such a great weekend, it was so awesome to run up front.”
Making the weekend result even more complete for Ruman was having Tampa, Florida based team sponsor, Chairman and CEO Gene McNichols, of McNichols Company on hand for the race. “We are so happy for Amy and the team today!” exclaimed Gene McNichols. “It was a thrilling race and it was wonderful to see Amy have such a strong performance and run up front the whole race. The crew had the No. 23 machine running well and looking great and we are excited about next weekend at Homestead-Miami, another Florida race!”
The teams will have a short turn around period as Round 2 of the Trans Am Series heads to South Florida to Homestead-Miami International Speedway this weekend. The series is expecting another large field of entries for the upcoming race.
Sponsor: McNICHOLS Nationwide Service Centers 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/
Looking ahead: Round 2 – Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, FL (March 9) || Round 3 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA (May 10)
Ruman Racing, Inc., is based in Munroe Falls, Ohio.
