It's not an easy task to be a NASCAR driver. You've got qualifying on your mind, tracks to memorize, and hey, how about making sure your vehicle is up to snuff?
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NASCAR Truck Series driver Angela Ruch not only has the pressures of a high-stakes racing career, but she and husband Mike Ruch are also full-time parents. Based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, the Ruch family has grown to include three very small children.
So, how does she do it? Read on to learn the basics of parenting from behind the wheel of a fast-moving vehicle.
Who Is NASCAR Driver Angela Ruch?
For Angela Ruch, born Angela Cope, racing is a family deal. Her uncle is now part-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Derrike Cope, who also happens to be the 1990 Daytona 500 champion.
Her twin sister, Amber Cope, is a professional stock car racer, as well. In fact, the two of them made NASCAR history on October 23, 2010, as the first twins to compete in a top three series race. The day was pretty important for Angela and Amber, too, as it was their NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series.
A Lifetime of Racing
The girls started racing go-karts at age nine. But, this isn't your typical "cute kids street racing" scenario. They raced across the Pacific Northwest, with a combined 50 wins and 20 pole positions. Then came racing late models, followed by the inevitable move to Charlotte, where the really serious racers congregate.
In 2006, Angela Ruch and Amber Cope shared seat time in the ARCA Series. Things picked up in 2008, when Angela qualified 8th and finished 29th at the Kentucky Speedway.
For Angela's Truck Series debut in 2010 at Martinsville, she drove the No. 01 Dodge for Daisy Ramirez Motorsports. She raced to a 30th-place finish. Next came four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2011, followed by a 2012 invitation to join SR2 Motorsports team, along with her sister, Jason White, and Benny Goodman.
Unfortunately, things weren't exactly smooth sailing at this point. Though she would one day become the driver of the No. 00 Reaume Brothers Racing Chevrolet, Angela had a few years of spotty sponsorship, team jumping, and poor trips around the track. Still, that didn't stop nabbing a start in the 2019 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Daytona. Good thing, too, because she finished 8th in that race and became the first female driver to lead for eight laps, and the second woman to finish in the top 10. Ruch's last race was the 2020 Truck Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. She placed 23rd.
In case you're wondering, there aren't many female drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Natalie Decker, Hailie Deegan, and Jennifer Jo Cobb are the top women in Trucks over the past decade.
How to Live the Ruch Life
In 2014, Angela married Mike Ruch, founder and CEO of Industrial Timber. Together, they have adopted three young children: King, Legend, and Lorde.
Together, the family has appeared on the Facebook Watch reality series The Ruch Life, an unscripted series which follows the family through the trials and tribulations of balancing the high-speed, high -takes racing career of a rising female driver, with the highs and lows of raising three small children.
As NASCAR returns back to normal, after the coronavirus outbreak of 2020 had events looking a little bit different that usual, Angela Ruch gives all the credit for her perseverance to her family. Not only is racing in her family, but a part of her family experience, as well.
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This post was originally published on May 9, 2021.
