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Sprints on Dirt driver Ryan Ruhl made a homecoming of sorts on Friday, June 26 at the Mt. Pleasant Speedway. Ruhl, who was making an appearance at the Mt. Pleasant track as part of the Engine Pro Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP special, attended Central Michigan University before transferring this fall to Kellogg Community College where he will be studying to be a dental hygienist. Now living in Angola, Ind., the 22-year-old Ruhl, is in his third year in the Sprints on Dirt series. “My dad (Tom Ruhl), used to take me to the races when I was little and the sprint cars were the best I had ever seen,” Ruhl said. A spec series that races around Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and into Canada, the Sprints on Dirt series races 20 to 30 times a year, Ruhl said. “It’s a great group of guys to race with.” The 2006 Rookie of the Year at Butler Motor Speedway, Ruhl ranked seventh as a series rookie in 2007. After starting 16 of 17 features in 2007 and having a top finish of fourth at the Merritt Speedway in July 2007, Ruhl ran a limited schedule in 2008 and matched his best series finish with a fourth place at Butler in June. So far in the 2009 season Ruhl ranks seventh in the Sprints on Dirt series points. “It’s had its ups and downs, but the season is going pretty good so far,” Ruhl said. Coming home to Mt. Pleasant, Ruhl put on a good show for friends and family, as the Coldwater, Mich born driver came home third in the heat race and fourth in the feature. “I hear it’s a slick track so hopefully I can make a top 10 finish and not spin out or anything,” Ruhl said prior to the races on what his goal for the night was. Getting up to 130 miles per hour on half-mile tracks, Ruhl said his biggest challenge in racing is the shorter tracks. “The little tight tracks I can’t get going as good as the bigger ones,” he said. “The half-mile tracks where you can go full throttle all the way around usually work out better for me.” As for what drives him to compete, it’s simple Ruhl said. “Mostly I’m scared of getting beat.”