Randy Ruhlman and derhaag motorsports return to mid-ohio sports car course  in daytona prototypes
 
Randy on the track in the #40 Preformed Line Products Daytona Prototype

Derhaag Motorsports returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Lexington, OH (June 21, 2006) – Derhaag Motorsports returns this weekend to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the 250-mile EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank.  The team is fielding a Daytona Prototype in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve with drivers Randy Ruhlman and Chris Bingham.  The #40 Preformed Line Products Pontiac Riley carries additional sponsorship from KeyBank, a presenting sponsor of the race, and McDonald Financial Group.  This will be a big weekend for the team and drivers, as Preformed Line Products and KeyBank, both based in the Cleveland, Ohio area, have large contingents of fans and customers attending the Saturday evening race.

The cars take to the pavement on Thursday for a track sponsored test day on the 2.258-mile, 15-turn road course.  Practice and qualifying begin on Friday with race day activities and practice scheduled for Saturday.  The large Grand American Rolex Cup field of 27 Daytona Prototype cars and 20 GT cars will be ready to take the green flag on Saturday at 5:30 PM for the three-hour race. 

Derhaag Motorsports has a wealth of experience at Mid-Ohio.  The team and driver, Randy Ruhlman, competed regularly at the course during their tenure in Trans-Am.  Ruhlman ran his first long distance race here in 1987 at the Escort Endurance Series 24-hour race in a Showroom Stock Corvette.  Daytona Prototype co-driver Chris Bingham won here driving the Saleen S7 in the GTS class in 2001 and has competed at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Daytona Prototypes as well. 

Television coverage of Round 9 of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be shown tape delayed on SPEED Channel on Sunday, June 25th at 3 PM ET.

Randy Ruhlman just came off a successful 2005 season in the Trans-Am Series with wins at both the Cleveland Grand Prix and the Long Beach Grand Prix.  Chris Bingham, the two-time Grand American GTS champion, was a top competitor in Daytona Prototypes last year.

Ruhlman was named the 2005 BBS "Most Improved Driver of the Year", won the 2005 Cleveland Grand Prix Trans-Am race and, Long Beach Grand Prix and was runner up for the 2005 Trans-Am Drivers' Championship. Ruhlman makes the record books as fourth in Top Ten finishes in Trans-Am history.  Ruhlman from Greensboro, NC has been a professional race car driver since his Rookie year in Trans-Am in 1990 and has extensive racing experience, predominantly in road racing in the Trans-Am Series, as well as in IMSA, ASA and the NASCAR short track series.

Bingham, of Bellevue, Washington, is a professional racing driver with an impressive resume and years of experience.  He has competed in the Busch Grand National Series, open wheel racing in Indy Lights, as well as IRL, and has extensive endurance racing experience.  As a two-time Rolex Sports Car Series GTS champion, Bingham was nominated as one of the "Best Road Racers of the Year" in 2002.  He made his return to full time Rolex Series racing in 2004, piloting the #15 CB Motorsports car, before joining the Derhaag Motorsports team for 2006.

Derhaag Motorsports Pontiac Riley carries primary sponsorship from Preformed Line Products with additional sponsorship logos of Coyote Closures®, Park Place Ltd, KeyBank and McDonald Financial Group.

Preformed Line Products (PLP) is an international manufacturer and supplier of hardware and support systems for the communications and energy industries.  Products include the COYOTE® Closure and GUY-GRIP® Dead-End used in the telecommunications, cable and energy industries.  Manufacturing facilities are located worldwide in the USA, Canada, China, Brazil, Mexico, England, Spain, South Africa, Australia and Thailand.