Randy Ruhlman Fourth at Motorock Trans-Am at
Cleveland Grand Prix
Randy Ruhlman Fourth at Motorock Trans-Am at Cleveland Grand Prix
Cleveland, OH (July 2, 2004) Top Trans-Am driver Randy Ruhlman finished
fourth at the Motorock Trans-Am Series race at the Cleveland Grand Prix
today. Ruhlman, who started on the front row with Trans-Am Champion Tommy
Kendall, was the top Chevrolet in the field behind the all Jaguar podium,
driving his Preformed Line Products/ Coyote Closure Chevrolet Corvette.
Ruhlman said after the race, ³Fourth is a good finish here for
us. We have been stringing together a lot of fast sessions, so another top
Five is not bad. It is actually our best finish at this track, though it is
still a bit disappointing, too. We were really fast all weekend and we have
been in the top four or five in every session since Portland, so I have a
lot of confidence in the car. Mike Dreith, my crew chief, and Leigh
Pettipas, our engineer, and all our crew have put together a great car. I
am looking forward to continuing to be up front, and being there at the end
to get us a win.²
³Points-wise, we moved up to seventh going into the street course at
Toronto. Those tight street courses suit my style of driving. With Toronto
next week, and then two weeks later Trois Rivieres (where we were second and
third), I think we are in a great position to move up and get some more
podiums,² continued Ruhlman.
³The only thing I regret in the race was early on I had a good shot at
passing Jorge [Diaz] for third as he got tangled up trying to pass Drissi,
but I just couldnıt make it stick. It was too risky there, and I
unfortunately I never got another chance. It is easy to see at the end of
the race what you should have done then, but I figured I would get another
shot later on, when Jorge and Drissi ran off their tires, but they didnıt.
All of us in the front four keep close contact, but one really could do
much. I think we all finished within five seconds of each other and the
win,² ends Ruhlman.
Ruhlman had the third fastest race lap with a 1:13.939, faster than the
previous lap record by over 0.3 seconds, and just 0.145 second off the new
track record. He is currently fifth overall in Top Ten Finishes, moving
ahead of Tommy Kendall, and now just behind Trans-Am Champion Brian Simo.
The Cleveland Grand Prix was Ruhlmanıs 141st start in Trans-Am. Ruhlman is
currently tied for seventh with 78 Championship points going into Round Five
of the Motorock Trans-Am Series at Toronto, just two points out of fifth.
He has one podium so far this year, a third place at Infineon Raceway in
California last week.
Randy Ruhlman finished sixth overall in 2003 in the Driver's
Championship in a Derhaag Motorsports Corvette and was seventh overall in
2002 driving for Tom Gloy Racing with a second (and a 3rd in 2003) at Trois
Rivieres and third at Miami. Ruhlman was awarded the 2002 BBS Wheels "Most
Improved Driver of the Year". Randy Ruhlman is sixth overall in Top Ten
finishes in Trans-Am history.
Ruhlman's Chevrolet Corvette is fielded this year by the
Minneapolis-based, Derhaag Motorsports, 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, and Darin Brassfield.
Preformed Line Products (PLP) is an international manufacturer and
supplier of hardware and support systems for the communications and energy
industries. Products include the COYOTE Closure and GUY-GRIP Dead-End used
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.
# # #
Cristi Brumm Ruhlman
336-210-0980
marketing@ruhlmanmotorsports.com
http://www.ruhlmanmotorsports.com <http://www.ruhlmanmotorsports.com/>
