Trans-Am driver Randy Ruhlman takes to the track at Road America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Trans-Am driver Randy Ruhlman takes to the track at Road America
 

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (Aug 21) -- Fresh from his third place finish at Trois
Rivieres, Canada, driver Randy Ruhlman is taking to the track at Road
America this weekend for Round 8 of the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich
Tires® Cup. The weekend began Thursday with a Test Day, and will be followed
Friday by two practice sessions, and on Saturday with qualifying and a
pre-race practice.  The 101.2-mile race is scheduled for Sunday August 24th
at 10:45 CDT.

 

The cars took to the 4.05-mile, 14 turn track Thursday for a three session
test day.  While most of the cars in the field have extensive experience at
this track, Ruhlman, the 2002 ³Most Improved Driver of the Year², showed
that his Derhaag Motorsports Performed Line Products/Coyote Closure
Chevrolet Corvette is again a front runner. Ruhlman was among the fastest
cars in the first session on Thursday and was the fastest Corvette, just
behind the top running Jaguars.

 

Ruhlman, who finished sixth here last year, says of the track, ³It is a
long, wide open track, where you can carry a lot of speed.  The car feels
absolutely great.  Actually, I wish the car felt a bit worse, since we are
not really sure what we want to do to get up to the top Jags.  We are almost
nine miles an hour faster in the corners than this car was last year, but we
need to get the miles per hour up on the straights.²

 

³It is also incredibly hot and very humid today.  It is supposed to cool
down significantly tomorrow and for the weekend.  We will just have to see
how we feel about the car tomorrow.  So far, I am encouraged, though, by the
way the car is handling in this heat.  I really think that once we get the
straightaway speed up, we are going to have something to show those Jaguars
out here.  And that is what we will be working on tomorrow.²


Sunday¹s Trans-Am race will be shown on SPEED Channel on a tape delay.
Coverage begins at 12:30 EDT.

 

Ruhlman's Chevrolet Corvette is fielded this year by the Minneapolis-based,
Derhaag Motorsports team, led by former Trans-Am driver Jim Derhaag.  Jim
Derhaag himself made 150 starts as a driver in the Trans-Am Series before
his successful move to full time ownership in 1998.  The team has fielded
many successful drivers, including top Trans-Am drivers Justin Bell, Kenny
Wilden, Tony Ave, Dorsey Schroeder, Chris Neville and Darin Brassfield.

 

Preformed Line Products (PLP) is an international manufacturer and supplier
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in the telecommunications, cable and energy industries. Manufacturing
facilities are located worldwide in the USA, Canada, China, Brazil, Mexico,
England, Spain, South Africa, Australia and Japan.

 

 

 

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