When it comes to the top female race-car drivers turning laps today, one in particular often gets overlooked.

Those inclined to ask, “Who will be racing’s next Danica Patrick?” maybe should be posing the question, “Who will be the next Amy Ruman?” Ruman, 42, drives in the Trans Am Series, and while the series has lost some cachet in recent years, she is dominating in a way that no woman ever has in a sports-car series.

Last year, she won the series title, becoming the first woman to win a Trans Am championship in the series’ 49-year history. Despite a 15th-place finish in the series' most recent race at Road America, Ruman leads Road America winner Cliff Ebben by 11 points with five races remaing. Ebben made up 15 points at Road America.

“Obviously winning, capturing the championship last year, that was the highlight of 2015,” Ruman said before the August race at Mid-Ohio. “It’s probably the highlight of my career.”

Ruman, a Kent State University graduate and former high school field hockey coach, made her Trans Am debut in 2011 and promptly won a race that first season.

“It’s kind of frustrating,” Ruman said of winning in relative anonymity. “You go into racing because you want to win and you want to go fast, not because you want people to recognize you. But I don’t think many people know about me.”

Ruman knows that has a lot to do with the series’ fall from prominence. From the ’60s to the ’90s, the Trans Am Series was a top-tier sports-car outfit, featuring drivers like Tommy Kendall and Scott Pruett. However, by the end of 2006, the series was a shell of itself and ceased operations. It returned in 2009, but with competition from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Pirelli World Challenge, the Trans Am Series is still trying to find its audience.

This fact irks Ruman.

“Sometimes, as of late, I feel like the Trans Am Series is undervalued,” she said. “The racing is competitive. We need more people to give us a chance. They need to shine a light on this series, maybe get back to television. We need to show fans how competitive and exciting this racing is.”

And if Trans Am does find its way back into the spotlight, Ruman should be front and center in the marketing.

In addition to winning the championship last year, she has 15 career wins since 2011, cementing her spot as a true star in the series. This season alone, she has two wins in seven starts and has finished in the top 10 six times.

Ruman—who drives the No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette for her family’s team, Ruman Racing—says her success is a product of solid teamwork and a great car.

And though she says she’s been in Trans Am for so long with the same team that she’s not sure she’d want to leave, there is one place she would love to race before she hangs up her firesuit.

“Daytona, for sure,” she said. “I’d love to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona. I think when it comes to American sports-car racing, that’s one that everyone wants to race in.”

Ruman will likely never grab the spotlight that has shone on some other female racers, but she already has one championship and a chance to win another.

So who cares who the next Danica Patrick will be?

Right now it’s great to be Amy Ruman.

This article first appeared in the September 5, 2016 issue of Autoweek magazine. Subscribe here.

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