Ruppel Has Success in Bark River

Eric Ruppel and his #837 Phil’s Inc. AMSOIL BFGoodrich Tire Swant Graber Ford F-150 were ready for the challenges of the Island Casino Boss Snowplow UP Off-Road Challenge. Even though this is the team’s initial season in the Lucas Oil CORR Sportsman series, the team has competed at the Upper Peninsula facility in the Johnsonville Formula 4x4 series.

Round 9
The land rush start has 10 trucks stretched door to door, hoping to squeeze through the first turn that funnels down to the width of three trucks.  As the green flag dropped, a mad dash to the first turn was on. It seemed like nobody was letting up on the throttle as the first corner approached. Eric made it through in good shape only to be tagged hard in the right rear going through the second turn. The contact made the truck spin, and allowed the entire field of Stock Trucks to go by. Fortunately the damage was only cosmetic, and Eric was able to continue. Unfortunately the jump the lead pack had on the #837 was too much to make up. Eric finished Round 9 in 7th place.

Round 10
Due to the hit the truck took in Round 9, the team double-checked the entire truck for any hidden damage, none was found, and the truck was “good to go.” The land rush saw Eric get a clean start with only two trucks in front of him. As the first three trucks headed for the second turn, Eric took the outside line and was able to pass Al Konitzer and J.R. Manion for the lead. As Eric headed up the “Hill” for the first time, the crowd was on its feet cheering the rookie on. The entire race Eric stayed in the lead and came home with his first ever CORR victory. 

“We had a good start for both rounds, but on Saturday we just got caught up in some racing contact. The BFGoodrich tires were the key to getting the truck up front and in the lead on that first lap. All weekend the truck ran flawlessly. The Art Car transmission ran cool and never missed a shift. Having AMSOIL products in the engine kept it running cool and maximized its power. We use Ford original equipment parts whenever possible and Swant Graber Ford really helps us in that area. Thanks also goes to Phil’s Inc. for great Centric Parts brakes on our truck…. Wow! Our first win in CORR. I knew we would be competitive this year, but winning a round wasn’t something we even talked about. This is amazing. The level of competition in Stock Truck so strong…. I hope we can use this experience at the last two rounds in Crandon,” commented Eric Ruppel.

After 10 of 12 rounds of racing Eric Ruppel is in 6th place overall in the CORR Stock Truck division, and currently leads the Pit Bull Tire CORR Sportsman Rookie of the Year title.

The final two rounds of racing will be the Borg Warner Championships, September 3-4, in Crandon, Wisconsin.

Thanks again to all the supporters of Eric Ruppel and his CORR Sportsman Stock Truck team.

Swant Graber Ford		AMSOil			BFGoodrich Tires		Phil’s Inc./MT Graphics
Alltel				Art Carr Trans		American Racing		Autometer
Fox Shox			K &N Filters		Mastercraft Seats		MSD Ignition
Optima Batteries		              Precision Gear