MX-5 Cup: Dean leads second NOLA practice

John Dean finished at the head of the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires pack at the conclusion of the second practice at NOLA Motorsports Park, as part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana. Dean Copeland and Patrick Gallagher completed the top positions.

In his No. 16 Bulb Jacket/Sick Sideways MX-5, Dean finished the 40-minute session with a best time of 1:57.075 (82.101 mph) around the 13-turn, 2.670-mile circuit. While Dean said he is happy with his performance, the weather conditions later this afternoon still remain a question mark.

"The track's rubbering in," Dean said. "There's a lot of new surface out here that no one has ever driven on. The track is getting faster and figuring out where everyone is going to be is tough. We're just doing what we can do to tune the cars to make them feel better, and more comfortable to drive over the bumpy sections and high-speed stuff.

"We're looking at the weather and it should rain as soon as qualifying starts. From a driver's standpoint, I really don't care, but from a team owner's standpoint it stinks because we don't know which tires to mount. So, we have to mount a set of rains and a set of slicks and make a last-minute decision. As a driver, you just drive what you have. However, as a team owner the decisions can be a little difficult and take more work from the crew."

Copeland, in his No. 7 Copeland Motorsports/SyncSpeed Inc. MX-5, was again in the top three following the drop of the checkered flag. His lap of 1:57.098 (82.085 mph) was good enough for the second position.

"The weather is going to be a tough call," Hixon said. "My guys are mounting up both rains and slicks. I don't know what it's going to be like, so we'll have to play it by ear. I hope it stays dry, because I'm super happy with the car.

"It feels a lot better than yesterday, and seemed to have even more speed. Everything is working pretty darn well and the setup is very drivable. If it gets wet, we'll let the dice fly."

Gallagher drove his No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5 to the third quickest time in the session. His best time was recorded as a 1:57.109 (82.077 mph).

"We had a problem on the out lap," Gallagher said. "I've never seen a crew fix a car like that. Before they even saw the car, they said they were going to fix it. I didn't even get out since they had all the parts ready to go once I got back to the paddock. The guys at Atlanta Motorsports Group did a really great job.

"It's hard to tell with all the drafting out there where we really stack up, but we'll see what happens out in qualifying.

Devin Jones finished fourth in his No. 35 ALARA Racing/Veristor MX-5. His best lap was a 1:57.138 (82.057 mph).

Driving the No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Sick Sideways MX-5, Nathanial Sparks ended the session as the fifth-quickest driver. He stopped the clock with a top time of 1:57. 290 (81.951 mph).

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Bryan Hixon was the top driver in the class. After battling food sickness during Thursday's test day, Hixon came back to the track with speed on his mind. He showed that by turning a lap of 2:00.854 (79.534 mph) at the controls of his No. 63 TheHotelContessa.com/Seven Devils Lodge SBMX-5.

"I'm still getting used to the flow of the track," Hixon said. "Yesterday was a little rough since I was dealing with a stomach bug. I only got one test session in, which may explain why my tires were a little more fresh. But, it put us in a good spot in the qualifying order.

"I felt pretty comfortable out there. I went out and practiced like I had written it down last night and it all came together. I think we have a pretty decent chance, since the other guys are going to put on sicker tires. I'm going to chance my strategy a bit and change the air pressures and the bump to see if we can pin the nose a little more."

Completing the top three positions, in class, were Ben Albano, (No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5) with a time of 2:00.949 (79.472 mph) and Nikko Reger, of Houston, with a time of 2:01.111 (79.365 mph).

The SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires is next on track for qualifying later today, at 3:30 p.m. (CDT). Race one is set to start April 11, at 11:30 a.m. (CDT), with race two slated for a green flag, at 5:15 p.m. (CDT), on April 12.

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Results from Practice 2 for Saturday's Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BF Goodrich Round 3 race, part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at Avondale LA with position, class, car number in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour

1, MX, {16} John Dean II, Sebring, FL, MX-5, 01:57.1, 82.101
2, MX, {7} Dean Copeland, Bowie, MD, MX-5, 01:57.1, 82.085
3, MX, {44} Patrick Gallagher, Thornville, OH, MX-5, 01:57.1, 82.077
4, MX, {35} Devin Jones, Mooresville, NC, MX-5, 01:57.1, 82.057
5, MX, {8} Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort, AL, MX-5, 01:57.3, 81.951
6, MX, {99} Drake Kemper, Toluca Lake, CA, MX-5, 01:57.3, 81.926
7, MX, {24} Peter Portante, Plainville, CT, MX-5, 01:57.4, 81.906
8, MX, {6} Timothy Paul, Mahopac, NY, MX-5, 01:57.4, 81.88
9, MX, {11} Ara Malkhassian, Houston, TX, MX-5, 01:57.6, 81.721
10, MX, {14} Sarah Montgomery, Lafayette, LA, MX-5, 01:57.8, 81.584
11, MX, {12} Zach Lee, San Antonio, TX, MX-5, 01:57.9, 81.507
12, MX, {4} Kyle Loustaunau(R), Vacaville, CA, MX-5, 01:58.0, 81.491
13, MX, {29} Chad McCumbee, Ocean Isle Beach, NC, MX-5, 01:58.0, 81.481
14, MX, {77} Hernan Palermo(R), Houston, TX, MX-5, 01:58.0, 81.444
15, MX, {34} Matt Koskinen(R), Harper Woods, MI, MX-5, 01:58.3, 81.263
16, MX, {26} Tim Probert, Houston, TX, MX-5, 01:58.4, 81.217
17, MX, {32} Keith Jensen(R), Dallas, TX, MX-5, 01:58.9, 80.825
18, MX, {10} Brent Mosing, Lafayette, LA, MX-5, 01:59.4, 80.486
19, MX, {17} Alex Bachoura(R), Houston, TX, MX-5, 01:59.5, 80.442
20, MX, {23} Christian Tetzlaff, Athens, GA, MX-5, 02:00.1, 80.007
21, MX, {28} Aurora Straus(R), New York, NY, MX-5, 02:04.6, 77.156

1, SBMX, {63} Bryan Hixon, San Antonio, TX, SBMX-5, 02:00.9, 79.534
2, SBMX, {61} Ben Albano, Greenwich, CT, SBMX-5, 02:00.9, 79.472
3, SBMX, {68} Nikko Reger, Houston, TX, SBMX-5, 02:01.1, 79.365
4, SBMX, {65} Robby Foley, Randolph, NJ, SBMX-5, 02:01.3, 79.259
5, SBMX, {67} Sam Adams, Richfield, WI, SBMX-5, 02:01.5, 79.085
6, SBMX, {62} Kieron O'Rourke, Grand Cayman, SBMX-5, 02:03.8, 77.644

Image: John Dean was the quickest in practice two of the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Credit: SCCA