MX-5 Cup: Copeland claims NOLA win

Dean Copeland clinched Round Three of the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires, at NOLA Motorsports Park as part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana. Chad McCumbee took the second-place finish, followed by Patrick Gallagher.

Copeland, in the No. 7 Copeland Motorsports/SyncSpeed Inc. MX-5, was not the leader when the white flag flew at the 13-turn, 2.67-mile circuit, but was able to make the last-lap pass to get to the lead.

Sitting in second on the approach to Turn 10, Copeland was on the rear bumper of Gallagher, who was the leader to start the while-flag lap. Just before the right-hand turn Copeland made a move to the inside. Gallagher moved to the right to protect his position through the turn, but Gallagher ran over too much of the apex curbing that catapulted his car into the grass. That was enough to allow Copeland to get to the lead.

"I am so happy for this win," Copeland said. "Throughout this race, no one knew what was going to happen. At one point, we caught the tail end of the field at about 114 mph, which was difficult to negotiate. On the last lap Gallagher had it, but caught the curb in Turn 10 and went four tires in the air. Luckily, I was able to sneak by.

In the No. 29 ModSpace MX-5, McCumbee jumped into the car to substitute for his driver Charles Paquin, who was unable to attend the race. McCumbee stayed toward the front throughout the race, putting himself in a position to take advantage of any mistake made by the top two drivers. In the end, McCumbee's plan came to fruition as he was able to take advantage of the mistake made by Gallagher on the closing lap.

"I don't think we were a great car to lead on the straights," McCumbee said. "I needed to get to the lead in order to cool my engine a little bit, but I knew those other guys were going to get back around me. In the end, it couldn't have worked out any more perfect. I wanted to head onto the back stretch in third, because I felt like that was the best opportunity to salvage the car and finish the race. Those two guys up front did a great job."

After making the mistake in Turn 10, Gallagher gathered his No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5, and crossed the line in third.

"I beat myself in the last two races," Gallagher said. "The team gave me a great car, and I should have gotten that one. Approaching Turn 10, I looked in my mirror and saw a car shooting down the inside. I wanted to get off the brake to keep from getting t-boned, but I'm not sure what happened after that. I know I hit the curb, but I was able to recover and salvage a finish."

Nathanial Sparks finished fourth in his No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Sick Sideways MX-5 after a hard-fought battle at the front of the field.

Devin Jones scored his second career top-five finish at the wheel of his No. 35 ALARA Racing/Veristor MX-5. Jones was as high fourth as at points during the race, but was unable to hold the position.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge class, Bryan Hixon notched an emotional win. Driving the No. 63 TheHotelContessa.com/Seven Devils Lodge SBMX-5, Hixon dedicated his race to his uncle, J. Lee Johnson, who was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer.

"I was going side by side with Ben [Albano] for the entire last lap," Hixon said. "At several points throughout the race, I tried to point him by but he didn't want to lead. Albano was driving a smart, strategic race and made me a better driver this weekend.

"Coming into this weekend, I just wanted to win a race for my uncle. I started crying when I crossed the line. It was a pretty emotional moment for me. When you don't expect the win to happen, it's the best feeling ever when it does.

"I'm usually hesitant to go side-by-side with another driver for an extended period of time. Today, something got into me and I went for it. My mirror touched Albano's and I was able to come out on top."

Completing the class podium was Ben Albano in the No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5, and Robby Foley in that order. Throughout the race, Albano showed he had the speed to take the lead, but was unable to capture the top position during the closing laps.

The SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires will wrap up from NOLA with the back half of the doubleheader slated for a green flag start, Sunday at 5:15 p.m. (CDT).

Follow the series online at www.MX-5Cup.com. Like the series on Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaMX5Cup and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @MazdaMX5Cup.

Results from Saturday's 45 minutes Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round 3 race, part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at Avondale LA with position, class, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps, and gap.

1,MX,{4},Dean Copeland, Bowie MD, MX-5, 22,
2,MX,{2},Chad McCumbee, Ocean Isle Beach NC,MX-5,22,0.204
3,MX,{3},Patrick Gallagher, Thornville, OH,MX-5,22,0.352
4,MX,{7},Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort, AL,MX-5,22,0.614
5,MX,{8},Devin Jones, Mooresville, NC,MX-5,22,0.902
6,MX,{1},John Dean II, Sebring, FL,MX-5,22,1.314
7,MX,{10},Timothy Paul, Mahopac, NY,MX-5,22,1.55
8,MX,{15},Ara Malkhassian, Houston, TX,MX-5,22,6.311
9,MX,{11},Kyle Loustaunau(R), Vacaville, CA,MX-5,22,6.983
10,MX,{9},Sarah Montgomery, Lafayette, LA,MX-5,22,14.785
11,MX,{5},Drake Kemper, Toluca Lake, CA,MX-5,22,15.074
12,MX,{6},Peter Portante, Plainville, CT,MX-5,22,17.014
13,MX,{14},Matt Koskinen(R), Harper Woods, MI,MX-5,22,17.548
14,MX,{17},Tim Probert, Houston, TX,MX-5,22,43.924
15,MX,{18},Alex Bachoura(R), Houston, TX,MX-5,22,44.495
16,MX,{12},Zach Lee, San Antonio, TX,MX-5,22,44.886
17,MX,{20},Christian Tetzlaff, Athens, GA,MX-5,22,0.001
18,MX,{19},Keith Jensen(R),Dallas, TX,MX-5,22,0.001
19,MX,{16},Brent Mosing, Lafayette, LA,MX-5,22,0.001
20,MX,{21},Aurora Straus(R), New York, NY,MX-5,20,2 Laps
21,MX,{13},Hernan Palermo(R), Houston, TX,MX-5,3,Crash

1,SBMX,{24},Bryan Hixon, San Antonio, TX,SBMX-5,22,
2,SBMX,{23},Ben Albano, Greenwich, CT,SBMX-5,22,0.032
3,SBMX,{25},Robby Foley, Randolph, NJ,SBMX-5,22,8.442
4,SBMX,{27},Sam Adams, Richfield, WI,SBMX-5,22,21.848
5,SBMX,{26},Kieron O'Rourke, Grand Cayman,SBMX-5,21,1 Lap
6,SBMX,{22},Nikko Reger, Houston, TX,SBMX-5,12,Trans

Time of Race: 45:06.800
MX-5 Margin of Victory: 0.204 seconds
SBMX-5 Margin of Victory: 0.032
Race Fast Lap: #29 Chad McCumbee 1:57.302
Hard Charger: #11 Ara Malkhassian, 7 Positions

Image: Dean Copeland held off a field of hard-charging drivers to secure the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup win at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Credit: Jake Galstad