Randy Ruhlman and Derhaag Motorsports Successfully Test Corvette in Preparation for Laguna Seca
Randy Ruhlman and Derhaag Motorsports Successfully Test Corvette in Preparation for Laguna Seca Randy Ruhlman and the Derhaag Motorsports team successfully finished two days of testing the #49 Preformed Line Products/Coyote Closure Corvette race car for the upcoming September 11th Laguna Seca Trans-Am race. The team spent Friday and Saturday, August 26th and 27th, testing configurations and putting on final setup touches for the last continental US race of the 2004 Trans-Am season. Ruhlman, currently third in points and in contention for the 2004 Trans-Am Drivers' Championship, put in some long miles and the consistent laps needed to evaluate the different changes the team put on the car. "We must have put in 180 miles just on Friday alone," says Ruhlman. "It was a great test. We learned a lot about the car, and it should be ready to take on Laguna Seca in a couple of weeks. "I love going out there and driving, and as an engineer I appreciate the challenge we face in trying to analyze each minor adjustment. We had a strong Corvette package before, but now I think we learned some things that will help even more. Laguna will be an important race for us in the Corvette, but also for the Jags of Paul Gentilozzi and Tommy Kendall, as the three leading contenders for the Championship. Anything we can do to make this Corvette go faster and drive even better, I am all for. And going out to the track in Omaha and testing is a great way to make that happen," finished Ruhlman. The team has the weekend off and then heads out to Monterey, California over the Labor Day holiday to get ready for the Saturday, September 11th Trans-Am race. On track activities begin there on Friday, September 10th, in conjunction with the ChampCar event at Laguna Seca Raceway. With just two scheduled races left in the 2004 Motorock Trans-Am season, Ruhlman is just eight points behind Tommy Kendall, who is currently second in the Drivers’ Championship. Ruhlman has been consistently fast in his #49 Preformed Line Products/ Coyote Closure Corvette having scored six straight, top five finishes this year including three podiums: a second last week at Road America, another second at Toronto, and a third at Infineon. Ruhlman was also the pole sitter for the Road America race. Randy Ruhlman finished sixth overall in 2003 in the Driver’s Championship in a Derhaag Motorsports Corvette. He was seventh overall in 2002 while 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 fifth 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. Derhaag himself made 150 starts as a driver in the Trans-Am Series before his successful move to full time ownership in 1998. 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 Ruhlman Motorsports Marketing 336-210-0980 marketing@ruhlmanmotorsports.com http://www.ruhlmanmotorsports.com