Munroe Falls, Ohio – After a promising start to the VP Small Engine Fuels 100 Miles of Madness at Road America this past Saturday, win number two of the season slipped away for Ruman.
There was another thrilling round of Trans Am qualifying, with Peterson and Ruman swapping between first and second slots during the session, Ruman (2:05.675) garnered second place on the starting grid, just three-tenths off of Peterson’s (2:05.375) pole time.
Weather and the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide race put the schedule an hour behind, and the green flag dropped at 6:30pm CT with the track still wet/dry. The 47 car field took a single file modified start, after a pace lap and two laps under double yellow.
The race heated up quickly with Ruman, in the No. 23 McNichols Chevrolet Corvette, pressuring Peterson for the lead and Cliff Ebben a close third. On lap 6, Ruman made a move in turn 14 on Peterson taking the lead and she put some distance on the field until the course went double yellow. With the restart on lap 14, Ruman and Peterson continued to battle, and Peterson regained the lead. Ruman was still a close second, followed by Tony Ave who had moved through the pack. On lap 19 there was another restart, and Ave made a move on Ruman taking over second. Ruman began to encounter some brake lock up problems which caused her to spin on lap 20, and she fell to 9th position. Though there were only five laps to go, Ruman made her way back though the field to 6th and pressured hard on 5th during the final lap. She finished the race in 6th and set the fastest lap time in the field, 2:08.850, on the 24th lap.
“After leading the race for 12 laps, that was a huge disappointment for us today,” acknowledged Ruman. “My brake bias got jammed all the way to the rear and that caused major axle hop into every brake zone. It was difficult to handle and the rear end just came out on me into turn 5 causing the spin. We definitely had something for Peterson today, it just slipped away from me.”
Ruman remains second in the Championship points standings with 153, but Peterson now has a 14 point lead over her with 167 points. Gregg continues to hold third spot with 143 points.
“We still have five races to go in the season and I will continue to drive as hard as I can and pursue this Championship. Anything can happen in any race, this hiccup won’t stop us,” affirmed Ruman.
The Trans Am Road America race will also be broadcast on a tape delay through a variety of networks, both regionally and nationally, to over 80 million households. Air times and further details regarding the air date and time will be announced shortly.
The Series will now enter a one month mid-season break in preparation for the 3Dimensional Services Next Dimension 100 at Ruman’s home track, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on August 17, Round Seven of the 2014 Trans Am Championship.
