The current Driver's Championship points 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 "WINS 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 just 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.

Randy Ruhlman won the prestigious Trans-Am season opener at Long Beach Grand Prix in April and followed that up with a second place finish at Portland International Raceway. The win at the Cleveland Grand Prix was his third consecutive podium and tenth consecutive top five finish.

Randy Ruhlman finished third overall in the 2004 Trans-Am Driver’s Championship, in the closest points battle ever in Trans-Am history. Last year, Ruhlman scored seven straight top five finishes, including three podiums: a second at Road America, another second at Toronto, and a third at Infineon. Last year, he was the pole sitter for the Road America race and sat on the front row for the Cleveland Grand Prix. Randy Ruhlman is fourth in Top Ten finishes in Trans-Am history.

Randy Ruhlman recently spent time between races working with the Buckle Up America program to promote seat belt use. Ruhlman was the keynote speaker at the Cleveland House of Blues Kick-off of the Northeast Ohio "Click It or Ticket" campaign. The program was spearheaded by UHHS Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s Outreach Program. Ruhlman also continues to work closely with the Lance Armstrong Foundation Peleton Project, especially in helping to promote the Tour de Road America, coming up on August 20th, to raise money for cancer survivorship.

Founded in 1947, Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ: PLPC) is an international designer and manufacturer of products and systems employed in the construction and maintenance of overhead and underground networks for energy, communications and broadband network companies.

Canadian facilities are located in Cambridge, Ontario with worldwide headquarters based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Company operates three US domestic manufacturing centers, located in Rogers, Arkansas, Albemarle, North Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina. Preformed serves worldwide markets through international operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and Thailand.