Ruff overcomes tough first day to take Super Rod title
Ruff loses on Friday, wins on Saturday to take first IHRA championship
NORWALK, Ohio (October 30, 2012) – It is an old proverb, but its words couldn't ring any more true – "for every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile."
It is safe to say no one understands that saying more than Super Rod racer Michael Ruff.
Ruff
had about as rough of a first day of racing as any one man could
possibly have at the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals. After
blowing a tire on his motor home on his way to Memphis Ruff, driving
over 900 miles from his home in Orlando, Fla., began his big weekend
with a first round loss in the Sportsman Spectacular followed by an even
bigger loss in the re-entry round of that same race all on opening day.
Michael Ruff overcame a rough start to collect his first IHRA championship in Super Rod
With
an 0-2 start to the weekend and the biggest race still yet to come,
Ruff wasn't exactly high on his chances to be competitive during the
Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions presented by AMSOIL
later in the weekend with the biggest prize – a world championship –
still on the line.
"It
certainly wasn't the start we had hoped for. After 900 miles and
blowing a tire on our way here we go out first round, bought back in and
then get whooped bad by (Steve) Furr," Ruff said. "That first day
really took the wind out of my sails. It was really frustrating because I
knew I had laid down good runs, I just got beat. I wasn't mad at the
cars performance or my performance, I just got beat."
But that is where the storm began to subside.
On
day two Ruff finally saw some light when he picked up his first round
win of the weekend – using a perfect triple zero light to get around
fellow Division 2 racer Jason McCandless – setting up an improbable run
to the finish that concluded with Ruff holding the biggest prize in the
game, an IHRA championship Ironman.
"To
come back the next day after a disastrous start and get a win light in
the first round, that just helped build the adrenaline and get the next
day off on the right foot," Ruff said. "From there things just took
off."
Ruff qualified for the Summit Tournament of Champions via a second place in Division 2
And boy did it ever.
After
defeating McCandless in round one Ruff found his groove and followed
that up with wins over Jeff Estep and Shannon Brinkley before meeting
Hamlin, Texas' Joe Collier in the final. In a battle of the Chevrolets
Collier, behind the wheel of his 2000 Monte Carlo, got off the line
first by a narrow margin – a .015 to a .019 – but Ruff battled back on
the other end in a double breakout victory as Ruff crossed the line
first in his '67 Camaro with a 9.890/147.39 in the 9.90 class while
Collier took a bit more with a 9.884/151.10.
"This
is just awesome. As tough as the competition is nowadays, to be able to
come out and play with them and win, get the big check, is an awesome
deal," Ruff said. "This is such a great opportunity the IHRA has given
everyone for all the champions to come to one race and duke it out for
the title. It is an amazing feeling to win this thing."
And amazingly, Ruff's weekend almost didn't happen.
Ruff
entered the last race of the season in Division 2 outside of the top
three in points and needed a monumental performance to sneak into the
tournament field. And right when he needed it most Ruff posted a pair of
semifinal finishes to propel him into second in the Summit Pro-Am
standings, one point ahead of McCandless.
Ruff finished the year with two wins, both coming at Bradenton Motorsports Park in March.
Joe Collier and Mike Ruff went head-to-head in the Super Rod final in Memphis
"I
didn't do a whole bunch of races this year. We missed the first race of
the year in Immokalee and then went to Bradenton and won both races
there," Ruff said. "From there we went to Jackson and didn't do so well
and by Darlington I was out of the top three. But we were able to get
down to four twice and that moved us all the way up to second in points
and now here we are hoisting this trophy."
After
the .000 light in round one, Ruff continued to get it done on the tree
with a .015 light helping propel him past Division 9 champion Jeff Estep
and a lucky break in the quarters moving him on when Shannon Brinkley
broke out by .013.
In
the semifinals Ruff earned a bye run while Collier, racing out of
Division 4, bested fellow D4 racer Clayton Nance with a .012 reaction
time and a 9.908/151.99 run to advance. Nance broke out by .036.
With
the win Ruff collected his first career IHRA championship and second
overall championship all in his first full season of IHRA racing. Now he
will take the big trophy home with him to Orlando and hopefully try for
a repeat in 2013.
"I
have been racing around 20 years and this is the first year I have run
IHRA and I can say I have really enjoyed it and let's just say I will be
doing more IHRA racing in the future," Ruff said. "I want to thank my
wife Sherrie, my brother-in-law Larry, FTI Converts, Mickey Thompson
Tires and Takash Race Craft. If it wasn't for them it wouldn't be
possible."
