Lakeville, Conn. (28 May 2012) – Amy Ruman returned to the Trans Am podium on Saturday as she made an impressive debut run in her first-ever race at Lime Rock Park for round 2 of the 2012 championship in the No. 23 McNichols Co./Goodyear/Cenweld Corvette.

Ruman started the race from fourth on the grid for the 66-lap Memorial Day classic after posting a fast lap time of 51.723 seconds on the 1.5-mile circuit in Northwest Connecticut. Ruman held her ground in the opening laps, looking like a Lime Rock veteran despite the fact that she had never raced at the track before the weekend started.

The consistent times were not only a credit to her quickly picking up the subtleties of the high-speed circuit, affectionately called a “road racing bull-ring,” but also to the preparation of her Ruman Racing crew. The group has taken on a new challenge with the newer Corvette C6 machine, but has proven to be quick learners in the opening races of the 2012 season.

While the large hillside crowd on hand enjoyed the warm temperatures, the heat made for a very slick 1.5-mile stretch of pavement. After running the opening 40 laps fourth in the order, the race-leading machine of Tony Ave slowed with a mechanical issue, allowing Ruman to slot in to third position.

A full course caution on lap 56 was followed by a restart on lap 64. With the podium in sight, Ruman’s run almost came undone as a power steering belt broke and caused a quick off and on. But she recovered quickly, and rejoined the fray to come home third as she was able to participate in the Lime Rock Park traditional hillside podium ceremony in her first visit to the track.

“I was happy to be back on the podium again and to come home with some solid points,” said Ruman. “It was a real handful once I lost the power steering. The belt just broke, so we were fortunate that nothing else happened when it came off. I knew we were close to the finish so I was able to just hold on and bring it home. It was some hard work but it was worth it! There was a good crowd for the race and I was pretty pleased with the weekend. We didn’t have a perfect car on some of the longer runs, but we learned more about the C6 and now we are all really looking forward to the home race at Mid-Ohio in two weeks.”

The podium result was also a strong boost in the championship standings as Ruman moved to third in the rankings. But as she looked back on the traditional Lime Rock Park weekend, Ruman couldn’t help but focus away from the track.

“We had great racing this Memorial Day weekend, but I also want to pause and remember all of our troops that have served and are serving for us and this great Nation.”

Viewing Note: The Trans Am Lime Rock Memorial Day Weekend race will air on MAVTV, Sunday, June 3rd at 6:00pm EST.??Trans Am heads to Mid Ohio Sport Car Course for a 100mile race on Sunday, June 10th at 1:45pm EST.

Sponsors: McNichols Co., headquartered in Tampa, FL, is the largest U.S. distributor of “Hole” products with service centers across North America. McNichols’ product selection is the most diverse in the industry. McNichols stocks perforated products, both metal and plastic. A toll free number 800-237-3820 connects you to the McNichols Co. distributor in your area and the company’s extensive website,www.mcnichols.com, has online customer service and online ordering. Goodyear Tire & Rubber is a Ruman Racing sponsor as well as the Series sponsor. Cenweld Corp., a well-established manufacturer and distributor of truck bodies and equipment throughout Ohio, is also long-time Ruman Racing sponsor.

For quick news and updates during race weekends, please follow Ruman Racing and the Trans-Am Series on Twitter @rumanracing and @gotransam. Be sure to “Like” our official pages on Facebook: Ruman Racing, Amy Ruman (Official Fan Page), McNichols Company, and Go Trans Am.

Broadcast information: www.goracingtv.com
Race Info/Scoring/Results: www.gotransam.com
Live Timing/Twitter Feed: www.gotransam.com/live-timing-and-scoring/

Looking ahead:?Round 3: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course June 8-10
Round 4: New Jersey Motorsports Park June 29 – July 1

Ruman Racing, Inc., is based in Munroe Falls, Ohio.