Ruppel
Continues to Run Strong - Runner-Up in Round 10
Second
Place in Championship Chase
Chetek, WI
(August 17, 2010) - As the season is winding down, Eric Ruppel
knows there is no margin for error if he wants to capture his
second Super Stock Truck Championship. The points chase is
very close between the top three drivers in the class. With
that in mind, Ruppel finishing on the podium both days during
the return visit to Bark River would be a key element to
winning the championship. Eric had the #837 Phil's Inc. Art
Carr Transmission Halama Synthetics BFGoodrich Ford F-150 well
prepared for battle, but mother earth put a rock in the
team's path.
The win and
third place finish at Oshkosh really made the championship
points chase a tight battle between Eric Ruppel and Scott
Beauchamp. Two more finishes on the box at Bark River II would
make the season finale very interesting at Crandon. Eric had
his Wolverine Power built engine freshen up just for the
second stop of the TORC World Tour in Michigan's Upper
Peninsula to maximize his chances of a top finish.
Saturday
- Round 9
The land
rush start of the sixteen truck Super Stock Truck field saw
most of the field push and slam its way through the first
corner. Somehow Eric bounced his way through without stopping
or spinning. Then just as the Phil's Inc Ford completed the
third lap, the engine lost oil pressure. Immediately Rupe
turned the ignition off before any harm could be done to the
engine. The end result was a twelfth place finish.
"The
contact from the start of the race tore the skid plate off the
front bumper," remarked Eric Ruppel. "This exposed the front
of the engine to all the rocks and gravel that comes off the
other trucks. Ultimately a rock got into one of the pulleys
and tossed the water pump belt. We shut everything down before
any engine damage happened."
Overnight
the crew thoroughly checked the engine and the rest of the
Ford F-150 and deemed it ready for Sunday.
Sunday -
Round 10
The
traditional land rush start saw the #837 Phil's Inc. Art Carr
Transmission Halama Synthetics BFGoodrich Ford F-150 grab the
lead exiting the first turn and it looked like the blue and
white Ford would lead the field to the checkered flag. Then
with three laps to go Scott Beauchamp was applying pressure to
Eric's bumper. Then with only two turns to go to the checkered
flag, Beauchamp made a clean pass to take the lead and the
win.
"That's a
tough one today," noted Eric Ruppel. "I made one small mistake
going through the horseshoe turn and that was enough for Scott
to get by me. All and all the truck came out of the weekend in
good mechanical shape. The body is beat up pretty good, but we
will have it looking pretty by Crandon."
After ten
rounds of racing Eric Ruppel is just eight points behind
championship point's leader, Scott Beauchamp. With only two
rounds of racing, the top three racers in the points, Scott
Beauchamp, Eric Ruppel, and Mitch Dorr still have a shot at
the title.
2010 TORC Race Schedule
Rd
Date
Track / Location
1
June 5
Langlade Cty.
Fairgrds, Antigo, WI
2
June 6
Langlade Cty.
Fairgrds, Antigo, WI
3
June 19
Crandon Intl Raceway, Crandon, WI
4
June 20
Crandon Intl Raceway, Crandon, WI
5
July 10
Bark River Intl Raceway, Bark River, MI
6
July 11
Bark River Intl Raceway, Bark River, MI
7
July 23
Oshkosh
Speedzone, Oshkosh, WI
8
July 24
Oshkosh
Speedzone, Oshkosh, WI
9
Aug 14
Bark River Intl Raceway, Bark River, MI
10
Aug 15
Bark River Intl Raceway, Bark River, MI
11
Sept 4
Crandon Intl Raceway, Crandon, WI
12
Sept 5
Crandon Intl Raceway, Crandon, WI
The final
weekend of racing in the TORC Super Stock Truck Championship
is September 4-5 in Crandon, WI.
Ruppel
Motorsports thanks all their supporters, including:
Phil's Inc.
- Auto Parts Warehouse, Art Carr Transmission, BFGoodrich
Tires, Halama Synthetics - AMSOIL, A & J Landscaping, ,
Chetek Off-Road,
King Shocks, Trail Ready Products, Optima
Batteries, Deaver, MSD Ignition
On a special note, all the Super Stock
drivers got together to bring awareness to
Prader-Willi Syndrome. Luke
Beauchamp, son of Super Stock driver Scot Beauchamp, has
been diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome. All the drivers
in the class raced with a white hood during the weekend to
the hopes that the public becomes more aware of this
condition and additional research funds can be
obtained to eventually find a cure
that inflicts approximately 1:15,000
