Racine Sun

Racine, Wisconsin native Jacob Rudd finished second in his return home for the debut of the TCX racing division in the TC America competition at Road America in Elkhart Lake.

Rudd came into the event riding high on the strength of a perfect season and finished roughly just a second behind winner Steven Cugliari at Road America.

“A bit of luck and of putting my head down based on performances yesterday,” Cugliari posted on Facebook of how he pulled off the upset. 

Driving the No. 81 Light Speed/Classic BMW BMW M2 for Fast Track Racing this year, Ruud’s list of eye-popping feats this season include winning six main events in six starts in the TCX Division including six pole positions and five fastest race laps.

All of it has come as the 21-year-old has maintained a college workload as a senior student at Rochester Institute of Technology. Rudd first took to the track as an infant hanging around the paddock with his dad Chris, who formerly raced in the Ferrari Challenge. At 16, he made his Road America debut in a club racing event and the rest has been history.

In the days before TC America, he told Racing Nation “it will be a little hectic with classes in New York and flying back home for the Road America,” he explained. “But it’s a blast to race at Elkhart Lake again.”

At one point in the race, Rudd led Cugliari, but was forced to relinquish it after stewards deemed the move he made to land in the top spot illegal.