SEBRING, FL – College student Jacob Ruud has been busy studying in the classroom and on his racing simulator this week.
The 21-year-old senior at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York headed back to school earlier this month as he works towards his Cybersecurity degree. But Ruud has been studying away from the classroom as well.
A winner of eight of ten TCX feature races this year in the TC America sprint racing series with his No. 81 Light Speed/Classic BMW BMW M2 Cup sports car, Jacob heads to the historic Sebring International Raceway this weekend (Oct. 1-3) for two 40-minute doubleheader events.
But Ruud isn’t familiar with the legendary 3.74-mile, 17-turn road circuit as he makes his debut at the 71-year-old racing facility. And Ruud has continued his studies after his college classes.
“Due to my college classes, I wasn’t able to test at that famous track,” said Ruud. “So, I have been spending numerous hours in the evenings on the simulator to get the corners down. Obviously, the bumps on the track surface and the grip of the track aren’t there on the simulator and I’ll need to get that experience in the first practice. But I feel I know the turns and the speed of the Sebring circuit. Plus, the Fast Track Racing crew knows the Sebring track very well and they will help me get ready for the doubleheader weekend.”
Ruud has produced one of the most dominant performance in recent TC America competition this year with eight wins, ten poles and six fastest race laps. He currently holds a massive 84-point advantage in the TCX point standings with four races remaining at Sebring this weekend and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 15-17.
“It has been a terrific season with the all-new BMW M2 Cup car in the first TCX season,” Jacob said. “The new M2 is a sensational car with a lot of the characteristics of the BMW M4 in the GT4 class. Classic BMW has sold many M2 cars this year and I think you’ll see more of the M2s in the TCX category in 2022. For a driver, the M2 is so much fun to race. I have talked with many drivers who really love driving the new car. Now, I want to continue our winning ways at Sebring. We have a chance to clinch the driver, team and manufacturers championships this weekend.”
Joining Ruud this weekend in the Fast Track Racing contingent will be other young drivers including Olivia Askew, the international skiing star from Salt Lake City, UT, in the No. 3 DXDT Raicng/Classic BMW BMW M2 Cup car, and Garrett Adams of Oviedo, FL, in the No. 54 Classic BMW BMW M2.
The TC America action at Sebring begins Friday, Oct. 1, at 9:05 a.m. EDT with qualifying set for Saturday, Oct. 2, at 9:40 a.m. EDT. The two TC America 40-minute main events will take place on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. EDT and Sunday, Oct. 3, at 9:30 a.m. EDT.