Trans-Am

Cleveland: Randy Ruhlman race notes

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 ...

Edited: Jul 5, 2004, 2:26 AM

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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, "Fourth 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."

"Points-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," continued Ruhlman.

"The 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 couldn't 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 didn't. 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," 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 Ruhlman's 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.

-dm-

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