Munroe Falls, Ohio (29 August 2012) – The Trans Am Series travels to Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota this weekend for Rounds 7 & 8 of the 10-race 2012 championship. Amy Ruman is ready to rebound following disappointment at Road America after contact ruined her run for a fifth consecutive podium finish.
The race weekend could provide a welcome boost in championship points, as the Ohio-based racer delivered two solid showings in last year’s Brainerd Labor Day weekend double-header.
Ruman will target a return to the Brainerd podium with another strong run in the No. 23 McNichols Co./Goodyear/Cenweld Corvette. When the Trans-Am Series debuted at the 13-turn, 2.5-mile Minnesota road course last year, Ruman quickly learned the fast way around the track with a qualifying effort that landed her third on the grid for Race 1 and the second starting spot for Race 2. Despite racing in the rain for only the third time in her career in Saturday’s event, Ruman held on to finish third. She looked to make it a double podium during the weekend with a strong run on Sunday, but unfortunate contact during the race ultimately saw her take the checkered flag fourth in the order.
“My crew has been really working hard fixing the 23. We’ve put Road America behind us, and everyone is looking forward to going back to Brainerd this weekend,” said Ruman. “With two races, it is a pretty intense schedule. When you think about all the points that are in play with a double header, it could be really big in terms of what happens with the championship. Hopefully we can have two strong, clean races and get the most out of the weekend to put us in a strong position as we enter the final rounds at Road Atlanta.”
Despite the race result at Road America, Ruman remains second in the championship standings as Trans Am prepares to stage the Brainerd double header. After the Labor Day event, there will be just one more Trans Am race weekend–the site of Ruman’s breakthrough victory last year, Road Atlanta–to decide the 2012 Championship.
The Minnesota stop on the schedule marks the longest haul for the Ruman Racing squad, traveling over 900 miles from their Munroe Falls, Ohio-based race shop.
“It’s a long trip for a pretty jam packed, short race weekend!” joked Ruman of the two-day race format. “It means that we’ll be setting the grid for Race 2 based on what happens in Race 1 so that adds even more pressure to finish well. Brainerd is a nice facility and we had a lot of great fans watching us here last year on Labor Day weekend. Hopefully we will have two wins to celebrate!”
The Trans Am Series will share the weekend with the Muscle Car Series and the SCCA Jack Pine Sprints. Saturday will see a 40-minute morning practice session at 9:00 AM (ET) followed by a 30-minute qualifying session at 12:30 PM (ET).
The 100-mile race will begin at 5:05 PM (ET) Saturday. A 30-minute practice is set for Sunday morning with Saturday’s race results setting the grid order for Sunday’s race which begins at 4:45 PM (ET).
Live timing and scoring can be followed throughout the weekend at www.gotransam.com/live-timing-and-scoring or on your mobile device at http://www.livetiming.net/scca/trans-am/html.asp.
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
