AUGUST 2020 | ENGINEBUILDERmag.com 27
CRISTY LEE ANGELA RUCH
DRIVER, NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES
A
ngela Ruch is a top female driver in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. She’s
the niece of former Daytona 500 Champion, Derrike Cope, and the only woman in NASCAR
who is a mother. She made history in 2019 by becoming the first female in the NASCAR Truck
series to lead laps at Daytona International Speedway, and she also became the star of her
own reality docuseries, The Ruch Life, which can be seen on Facebook Watch.
“ ere are only three female drivers in
NASCAR right now and to know that
I’m one of them is pretty amazing,”
Angela Ruch says. “Racing has been in
my family for three generations. My
grandfather drag raced, my dad raced
and my uncle, Derrike Cope, won the
Daytona 500 in 1990, so racing has
been in my family. My grandfather also
owned Cope Brothers Machine Shop in
Spanaway, WA and it’s currently owned
and run by my dad. I’ve grown up
around motors my whole entire life.”
Angela’s rst taste of racing came
when she and her twin sister joined aGo Kart series at the age of nine.
“I didn’t know the gas from the
brake, but that’s when my passion for it
started,” she says. “We raced all over the
Northwest. We kept moving up through
the ranks because we were dominating
the series so much. When we started
beating grown men that made us think,
maybe we do have something. Maybe
we can be just as good as they are. at
motivated us to keep moving the needle
further and further.”
With the Go Kart series behind her,
Angela stepped up to racing Super Late
Models at the age of 15, before she evenhad a driver’s license. From there, she
had an opportunity at the age of 21 to
move to North Carolina with her uncle
to pursue her shot at NASCAR.
Angela started o in ARCA and
did some testing in the X nity series.
However, she only ran a handful of
races before funding became scarce.
After that, she took a few years o ,
but kept dreaming about getting an
opportunity in NASCAR. Two years
later, her shot at the big time came in
2019 when she ran for Joe Nemecheck.
“Running for Joe Nemecheck
was probably the biggest highlight
of my career,” she says. “Getting the
opportunity with Front Row Joe and
learning from one of the best drivers
in the world was a dream in itself. I
obviously always have my uncle by my
side as well, but it’s nice hearing from
other drivers and getting input and
their take on things.”
For 2020, Angela got her chance
at a full race season driving for Josh
Reaume. Her e orts over the years have
culminated in her realizing her dreams
and breaking barriers within the sport
of NASCAR.
“Women are more accepted into
the sport today than ever,” Ruch says.
“Danica opened up the doors and
opportunities for younger girls to come
into the sport. But in the end, we do
need a female to win when it’s all said
and done. We need that W – one of us
does – to really prove that we do have a
presence.”
Of course, being the competitor
Angela is, she won’t rest until she’s the
one celebrating in Victory Lane, but
outside of racing, Angela’s life has gotten
a lot more rewarding as well. In 2019,
Angela and her husband Mike adopted
two children, King and Lord, and
agreed to a docuseries following Angela’s
racing career and the changes their
family experienced as they prepared to
be parents. EB23-32 eb.aug20 Women in the Industry.indd 27 8/7/20 8:29 AMNaresh Jariwala