# 23 Amy Ruman & # 59 Simon Gregg Corvettes finish in top 5 at Sebring Trans Am opener
Picking up from last year, Amy Ruman showed consistency but not quite the pace to take charge.
Ruman could not catch Tomy Drissi # 8 Camaro for 2nd as the race ended under a full course caution.
# 59 Simon Gregg was fifth.
Driving a Mustang with spiffy new sponsorship, flag-to-flag winner Ernie Francis Jr, 23 is shooting for a sixth-consecutive Trans Am championship against more teams set to contend all 11 races across America.
Locals like # 3 Daniel Urrutia add to the show. He ran pretty good until his clutch gave out on lap 18 of the 26-lap race.
Richard Grant finished a lap down, 17th overall, 8th in TA.
# 02 Larry Bailey and # 26 Aaron Pierce soldiered on to 5th and 9th in nicely refurbished hand-me-down C6 Corvettes against Vipers, Porsches and Mustangs in a support class called SGT.
20 cars from the Historic Trans Am group, prepared to exact original specs traveled to Sebring.
They are part of the Speed Tour envisioned by owner Tony Parella (shown here with Grand Marshall Brian Redman) to unite die-hard fans of the past and the present. It seems to be working.
Trans Am was originally for “pony cars” manufactured by Ford, GM and MoPar. In 1973 Corvettes were allowed in when the manufacturers pulled out. Legends like these and newer Corvettes are being supplanted by Camaro, Mustang, and Charger bodied cars.
Photos courtesy of Chris Clark & Larry VanScoy
