MX-5 Cup: Copeland secures NOLA sweep

Dean Copeland wrapped up the weekend sweep in the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires by winning Round Four of the season, held at NOLA Motorsports Park as part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana. John Dean finished second with Ara Malkhassian in third.

The result was the same for Copeland during both races, but the way in which he notched his two victories was very different. Before even hitting the track, each team was forced to make a setup decision to best deal with the wet, but drying, conditions presented by the 13-turn, 2.67-mile circuit. Copeland elected to run the same setup from Saturday's dryer race, and credits that as the edge he needed to win. Copeland also credited the jump he got on both the start and mid-race restart. The full course yellow period was brought out when the car of Alex Bachoura hit a wall on lap two.

"The track was really wet to start," Copeland said. "On the start I was being a little cautious. When I hit the gas, Chad McCumbee was already ahead of me. But, he had rain tires on. That was not the right call since he spun the tires, allowing me to get back around him. I was able to get into Turn One with the lead and run consistent laps from there.

"Before going to the grid, we were agonizing over tire selection, and suspension setup. I opted for the full dry setup, which I ran yesterday, and it ended up being the key for us."

Dean was the polesitter, in his No. 16 Bulb Jacket/Sick Sideways MX-5, but was unable to hold off Copeland's opening lap charge due to contact in Turn One. That put Dean back in second, where he spent the mid-race laps battling with Malkhassian.

"The conditions were difficult for everyone," Dean said. "I got a decent start, and got hit by another car at the exit of Turn One. A bunch of cars got around me, and until the yellow came out I was just fighting back. Ara [Malkhassian] and I had a great battle after the restart. I was able to get back around him as we went into Turn One, as the laps wound down.

"From there, I just tried to conserve the car and get to the end. I was worried that he may try to get back around me, but he was never able to catch up to my bumper."

In the No. 11 ALARA Racing MX-5, Malkhassian was on a mission. Starting 14th, Malkhassian advanced positions from the drop of the green flag. By the end of lap eight, Malkhassian was in seventh. Then, in only one lap, he improved six positions to put him ahead of Dean, for second place. After sparing with Dean for position, Malkhassian settled into third and completed the race in the final podium spot.

"After having a difficult qualifying run, we were able to come back out and show where the car could be," Malkhassian said. "The car just wanted to go forward. For a while, I thought I had something for Copeland, but we had too much of a compromised setup.

"For me, the key was making aggressive moves early in the race to get up front. Once I was there, it just came down to running consistent laps. The car was really stable, considering the tough track conditions."

Devin Jones logged a fourth-place finish in his No. 35 ALARA Racing/Veristor MX-5. The finish matched the record for Jones' highest finishing position, which was set at the second race at Road Atlanta in 2014. Throughout the race, Jones methodically moved forward from his eighth-place starting position.

Peter Portante finished fifth, which is best finish in his four starts in the series. In his No. 24 Atlanta Motorsports Group MX-5, Portante spent most of 20 laps around the position in which he finished.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Nikko Reger notched his first win in the series. Reger said his win was made possible after experimenting and finding the optimal line around the course that still contained plenty of standing water.

"On the mid-race restart, I had a really bad shift," Reger said. "I dropped back from there and was able to battle back. This race came mostly just to finding a grove and running good laps.

"Throughout the race, I felt like I was just able to get back on the power sooner than the other guys. I was just able to find the drier lane a little better than everyone else out there."

Ben Albano drove his No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5 to second, while Bryan Hixon, of San Antonio, Texas, drove his No. 63 TheHotelContessa.com/Seven Devils Lodge SBMX-5 to third.

Dean held onto his lead in the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Drivers' Standings, with 226 points. Copeland is one marker behind, in second, while Gallagher is third, with 213 points.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge points, Foley still shows the way with a total of 224. Bryan Hixon sits six points behind, followed by Sam Adams, in third, with 215 points.

The next stop for the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California, May 1-3.

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 Sunday's 45 minutes Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round 4 race, part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park with position, class, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, laps, and gap.

1,MX,{4},Dean Copeland, Bowie MD,MX-5,20,0
2,MX,{1},John Dean II, Sebring FL,MX-5,20,1.391
3,MX,{14},Ara Malkhassian, Houston TX,MX-5,20,3.047
4,MX,{8},Devin Jones, Mooresville NC,MX-5,20,7.339
5,MX,{7},Peter Portante, Plainville CT,MX-5,20,9.377
6,MX,{11},Kyle Loustaunau(R), Vacaville CA,MX-5,20,9.632
7,MX,{3},Patrick Gallagher, Thornville OH,MX-5,20,10.881
8,MX,{6},Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort AL,MX-5,20,10.984
9,MX,{13},Matt Koskinen(R), Harper Woods MI,MX-5,20,20.572
10,MX,{17},Tim Probert, Houston TX,MX-5,20,22.777
11,MX,{5},Drake Kemper, Toluca Lake CA,MX-5,20,23.943
12,MX,{18},Keith Jensen(R), Dallas TX,MX-5,20,45.319
13,MX,{12},Zach Lee, San Antonio TX,MX-5,20,0.00114419
14,MX,{10},Sarah Montgomery, Lafayette LA,MX-5,20,0.001148634
15,MX,{16},Brent Mosing, Lafayette LA,MX-5,20,0.001374572
16,MX,{20},Christian Tetzlaff, Athens GA,MX-5,19,1 Lap
17,MX,{21},Aurora Straus(R), New York NY,MX-5,19,1 Lap
18,MX,{9},Timothy Paul, Mahopac NY,MX-5,17,3 Laps
19,MX,{15},Hernan Palermo(R), Houston TX,MX-5,16,Trans
20,MX,{2},Chad McCumbee, Ocean Isle Beach NC,MX-5,14,Mech
21,MX,{19},Alex Bachoura(R), Houston TX,MX-5,1,Crash

1,SBMX,{23},Nikko Reger, Houston TX,SBMX-5,19,0
2,SBMX,{22},Ben Albano, Greenwich CT,SBMX-5,19,5.085
3,SBMX,{25},Bryan Hixon, San Antonio TX,SBMX-5,19,8.764
4,SBMX,{24},Robby Foley, Randolph NJ,SBMX-5,19,17.128
5,SBMX,{27},Sam Adams, Richfield WI,SBMX-5,19,18.053
6,SBMX,{26},Kieron O'Rourke, Grand Cayman,SBMX-5,19,56.865

Time of Race: 45:47.616
MX-5 Margin of Victory1.391 seconds
SBMX-5 Margin of Victory: 5.085 seconds
Race Fast Lap: #8 Nathanial Sparks 1:58.391
Hard Charger: #11 Ara Malkhassian, 11 Positions

Image: Dean Copeland dug hard for his second win of the weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Credit: Jake Galstad