TRANS-AM: POINTS LEADER RUHLMAN LOOKS FOR REPEAT PODIUM FINISH AT MOLSON INDY TORONTO

Courtesy Derhaag Motorsports

TORONTO (July 5, 2005)--After scoring his second win of the season in a dramatic come from the back finish at the Cleveland Grand Prix, Randy Ruhlman is looking forward to racing the #49 Preformed Line Products Canada Corvette this weekend at the Molson Indy Toronto in Round 4 of the 2005 Trans-Am Series.

The current Driver's Championship point’s leader, Ruhlman will be making his 150th start in Trans-Am, having scored two wins and a second in the first three Rounds of 2005 competition. Ruhlman hopes to continue that streak in Toronto, and feels he has some unfinished business at the track at Exhibition Place.

Ruhlman says, "We've run some great races so far this year against the Jags and Fords, and I have a great team to thank for giving me a winning car. I am still really hungry for a win at Toronto, though. We fell a bit short last year, when Ron [Fellows] and I finished just off of the win. So coming back this year, I feel good about our chances. I've been coming to Toronto since 1988 in the Corvette Challenge. I love this track and the fans are some of the most supportive and knowledgeable in the sport." Ruhlman scored a second place finish here last year, where along with teammate Canadian driver Ron Fellows, they made it a two-three podium finish for the Corvettes.

Not only will Ruhlman be fighting the Jaguars again, but he will have an additional 25 pounds of "reward weight" added to his Corvette. This weight (a 25-pound penalty for each win), plus that for the Long Beach win, puts the #49 car at a 150-pound weight disadvantage against the AJ V8 of Gentilozzi, and 125 pounds heavier than Portland winner Klaus Graf.

Braking, acceleration and tire wear are the major issues with weight and are especially critical at a fast and tight track like Toronto. With a significantly heavier car, Ruhlman will be forced once again to call on his ability to drive a fast, steady pace and his skill at keeping the car and tires in good shape for the final dash to the checkered flag. Ruhlman has continued to be very fast in the Corvette, setting a new track record at Portland with the fastest race lap, and, while driving to a 16 second winning margin at Cleveland, he missed the fast lap of Klaus Graf in the Jaguar by thousandths.

Ruhlman drives the #49 blue and white PLP Corvette, sponsored in Canada by Toronto area, Preformed Line Products Canada.

This year, Ruhlman is joined on the Derhaag Motorsports team by Calgary native and rookie contender Hima Maher. The two drivers will be talking to the media at the trackside pre-race press conference on Thursday, July 7th.

The Toronto Trans-Am race will be held on Saturday, July 9th at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto. The 100-mile race of 57 laps will be run at 3 PM EDT. Television coverage will be Sunday, July 17th at 12:30 EDT. The Toronto race is one of three Canadian races for Trans-Am in the 2005 season. The series travels to Edmonton, Alberta next week, and ends the season at the Molson Indy at Montreal.