Ruhlman and Bingham look for another Top-Ten finish at VIR in the Derhaag Motorsports #40 Preformed Line Products Daytona Prototype
  
Randy drives the #40 Preformed Line Products Daytona Prototype at the 2006 Long Beach Grand Prix

Ruhlman and Bingham look for another Top-Ten finish at VIR in the Derhaag Motorsports #40 Preformed Line Products Daytona Prototype

Alton, VA (April 19, 2006) – Ready to capture another top position this weekend at Virginia International Raceway in Round 5 of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve are Daytona Prototype drivers Randy Ruhlman and Chris Bingham.   The pair, driving for Derhaag Motorsports, is fresh from a top ten finish at the Long Beach Grand Prix in only their fourth outing in the #40 Preformed Line Products Pontiac Riley, engineered by Buddy Fey. 

Both Randy Ruhlman and Chris Bingham have some driving experience at the Virginia International Raceway and are looking forward to the challenges of this fast and demanding, 3.27-mile road course located in the scenic hilly area on the central Virginia/North Carolina border.  The team itself also has racing experience at VIR.  Derhaag Motorsports finished third in 2003 in Grand American GTS and took another third in Trans-Am competition in 2002.

Chris Bingham has driven this track more recently in a Daytona Prototype in 2004 and 2005, and is looking for another top finish this year.  Randy Ruhlman, although he hails from nearby Greensboro, NC, has raced just once at VIR in 2002 in the Trans-Am Series.  Buddy Fey served as the engineer for that Tom Gloy Racing Trans-Am program which teamed up Ruhlman and current Daytona Prototype competitor, Butch Leitzinger.

This weekend's 250-mile feature race follows a weekend full of racing activity.  An unofficial Thursday test day and Friday practice day are followed by a 30-minute Qualifying race on Saturday, to set the starting grid for the Sunday, April 23rd race.

On-track activities start off on Thursday with three test-day sessions.  Friday is the first official on-track day with Rolex Cup DP practice beginning at 9:30–11 AM and from 2–3 PM.  On Saturday, a 9-10 AM practice session will be followed by the 1:15 PM start of the 30-minute Qualifying race, which will set the field for Sunday's race.  An early Sunday morning warm-up at 9–9:30AM will help with final car preparations for the 250-mile/62-lap/2-1/2-hour time-limited race.  The race starts at 1 PM EDT and television coverage will be LIVE on SPEED beginning at 1 PM EDT (10 AM PDT).

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

As well as being the winner of the 2005 Long Beach Grand Prix Trans-Am race, Randy Ruhlman was named the 2005 BBS "Most Improved Driver of the Year", won the Cleveland 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.  A veteran race car driver, Ruhlman 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.