MX-5 Cup: Gallagher takes first win in Monterey race 2

Patrick Gallagher cashed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca by taking his first career SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires win in Championship Round Six as part of the Monterey Grand Prix. Peter Portante was second with Drake Kemper bringing his car home third.

It took three years of trying, but Gallagher won his first Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup race after a hard-fought battle for the lead. While Gallagher officially led all but one lap of the 25-lap race at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile course, that only tells part of the story. Gallagher, driving his No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5, took the lead from polesitter John Dean by the completion of lap one, but was unable to break away from the rest of the lead group.

On lap nine, while trying to go for the lead, Kemper got on the inside of Gallagher going into Turn Two. As a result, Kemper went wide and pushed Gallagher out to the edge of the track. That opened the door for Peter Portante to take the lead. Portante completed the move holding the lead until they completed the lap. On lap 10, Gallagher made his way back around his teammate on the approach to the 'Corkscrew' to retake the lead. Gallagher's lead would once again be challenged during a restart following two laps of a full-course yellow, on laps 13 and 14. However, Gallagher was able to stand up to the challenge and seal the victory.

"It's nice not to disappoint Jason Hoover for the first time all year," Gallagher said. "I can't say enough about the job this Atlanta Motorsports Group team does. They are really detail-oriented. Everything is clean and right where it needs to be every time I jump in the car. That's why they're the best team in the paddock and it really feels good to win for those guys.

"We should have had this yesterday, but we put a new transmission in and pulled it off today. My teammate [Portante] got by me because Drake [Kemper] decided to try a pass on the inside of Turn Two. It didn't work out, but I understand why he did it. With the large number of cars on track, you had to take advantage of the opportunities when they came about. When I took the lead back, it was just because Portante made a small mistake. On the radio, I told my team to tell him that I needed to do that since Kemper was coming for both of us."

Portante piloted his No. 24 Intercity Lines MX-5 to second place. While he did have the lead on lap nine, following an opportunistic pass in Turn Two, Portante was unable to stay out front following a small driving error. He was then locked in battle with Kemper and Dean to sort out positions two through four.

"We were always in that lead group, so we had a really good day," Portante said. "We were best on cold tires, so we had to make our moves early. When I was in the lead, I made a mistake and lost the brakes going through the Corkscrew. That's where Gallagher got me. After that point, I was constantly attacking to retake the lead but couldn't as the guys behind me were coming on strong."

Kemper drove the wheels of his No 99 Royal Rugby/Mazda Motorsports Development/BFGoodrich Tires MX-5. That was evidenced when Kemper's car pushed wide in an attempt to take the lead early in the race. Toward the end of the race, Kemper also ran wide at the exit of Turn Six. He was able to recover and secure third place.

"The question is what didn't happen during that race?" Kemper said. "I was in second for the first part of the race, behind Gallagher, and went for a pass in Turn Two. We both went wide and Portante slipped through to take the lead. So, that didn't work well.

"After the restart, Dean caught up to us. In the closing laps, I ran wide in Turn Six which allowed him to get around me. From that point, I knew I had two laps to move forward. So, I just put my head down and put in some fast laps. I made it back up to Dean by the last lap when we hit traffic in Turn 11. It was just a dead sprint from the corner to the line, at that point."

Dean finished fourth in his No. 16 Bulb Jacket/PPG/Sick Sideways MX-5 following an up-and-down day. Dean started on the pole for the rolling start, but was unable to hold the position. Dean was in the mix for the lead throughout the race, but could get no higher than third, on lap 24.

Ara Malkhassian finished the day in fifth while driving his No. 11 ALARA Racing MX-5. Starting in seventh, Malkhassian clawed his way up the leaderboard. Like Saturday's race, Malkhassian's car ran better on the longer runs. Following the mid-race restart, Malkhassian dropped from fourth to sixth and worked his way back to fifth by lap 22.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge series, Ben Albano was the class winner. Albano had a good start from the pole in his No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5, but utilized traffic to his advantage to get to the lead position.

"I started on pole and got a good start," Albano said. "That all went away when I drove off track in Turn Six, but I was able to catch back up to the leaders pretty quickly. I got the lead with about 25 minutes to go, so I was able to just concentrate on my own race and run consistent laps.

"When we got the full-course yellow, I knew we were going to have a bunch of cars stacked up in front of us. I've always liked racing in traffic, and I was able to use it to my advantage to build a gap over the rest of the field."

Nikko Reger captured another second-place finish, followed by Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey.

Hernan Palermo swept the Battery Tender Hard Charger award, winning both awards on the weekend. In his No. 77 CMS/Brimtek/Sync Speed Inc. MX-5, Palermo improved eight positions from his 19th-place starting spot.

In the Mazda Race of NASA Champions, Matthew Powers was victorious. He was followed to the line by Corey Rueth and Jeremy Croiset.

Dean leaves Mazda Raceway as the leader of the Championship Drivers' Standings with 338 points. With his win, Patrick Gallagher made hay in the standing, coming within two markers of Dean. He is followed by Dean Copeland who has 305 points.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge standings, Robby Foley holds the lead with 335 points. Reger sits second, nine markers behind, while Sam Adams is third with 324 points.

The next stop for the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires will be at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, July 10-12.

Results from Sunday's Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round Six race, part of the Monterey Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with position, class, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, laps, and gap.

1,MX,{2},Patrick Gallagher,Thornville Ohio,MX-5,25,0
2,MX,{4},Peter Portante,Plainville Conn.,MX-5,25,1.849
3,MX,{3},Drake Kemper,Toluca Lake Calif.,MX-5,25,2.207
4,MX,{1},John Dean II,Sebring Fla.,MX-5,25,2.22
5,MX,{5},Ara Malkhassian,Houston Texas,MX-5,25,3.974
6,MX,{10},Dean Copeland,Bowie Md.,MX-5,25,5.639
7,MX,{6},Kyle Loustaunau(R),Vacaville Calif.,MX-5,25,6.532
8,MX,{7},Devin Jones,Mooresville N.C.,MX-5,25,6.926
9,MX,{9},Nathanial Sparks,Spanish Fort Ala.,MX-5,25,7.21
10,MX,{8},Timothy Paul,Mahopac N.Y.,MX-5,25,10.461
11,MX,{19},Hernan Palermo(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,25,17.538
12,MX,{13},Sarah Montgomery,Lafayette La.,MX-5,25,18.706
13,MX,{16},Zach Lee,San Antonio Texas,MX-5,25,19.564
14,MX,{14},Keith Jensen(R),Dallas Texas,MX-5,25,34.332
15,MX,{17},Brent Mosing,Lafayette La.,MX-5,25,39.267
16,MX,{11},Matt Koskinen(R),Harper Woods Mich.,MX-5,25,40.466
17,MX,{15},Tim Probert,Houston Texas,MX-5,25,43.194
18,MX,{20},Steve Bottom,Newport Beach Calif.,MX-5,25,57.679
19,MX,{18},Charles Paquin,Ottawa Ont. Can.,MX-5,25,01:03.6
20,MX,{21},Aurora Straus(R),New York N.Y.,MX-5,23,2 Laps

1,SBMX,{23},Ben Albano,Greenwich Conn.,SBMX-5,25,0
2,SBMX,{26},Nikko Reger,Houston Texas,SBMX-5,25,4.717
3,SBMX,{22},Robby Foley,Randolph N.J.,SBMX-5,25,11.017
4,SBMX,{25},Bryan Hixon,San Antonio Texas,SBMX-5,25,15.393
5,SBMX,{27},Kieron O'Rourke,Grand Cayman,SBMX-5,25,29.719
6,SBMX,{24},Sam Adams,Richfield Wis.,SBMX-5,25,30.025
7,SBMX,{28},Chris Beaufait,Freeland Wash.,SBMX-5,25,36.25

1,SBNC,{31},Matthew Powers,San Rafael Calif.,,25,0
2,SBNC,{29},Corey Rueth,Manchaca Texas,,25,5.243
3,SBNC,{33},Jeremy Croiset,Tehachapi Calif.,,25,7.506
4,SBNC,{30},David Ziegler,Baltimore Ohio,,25,17.324
5,SBNC,{42},Tristan Littlehale,Saratoga Calif.,,24,1 Lap
6,SBNC,{37},Michael McAleenan,Tacoma Wash.,,24,1 Lap
7,SBNC,{41},Daniel Williams,Scottsbluff Neb.,,24,1 Lap
8,SBNC,{43},Edgar Cabrera,Queens N.Y.,,24,1 Lap
9,SBNC,{39},David Schotz,Chandler Ariz.,,24,1 Lap
10,SBNC,{45},Paul Arnold,Franklin Tenn.,,24,1 Lap
11,SBNC,{40},Tommy Lo,Sunnyvale Calif.,,24,1 Lap
12,SBNC,{36},Sandro Espinosa,Atlanta Ga.,,24,1 Lap
13,SBNC,{35},Eric Powell,Orlando Fla.,,24,1 Lap
14,SBNC,{44},Ricky Johnson,Queen Creek Ariz.,,24,1 Lap
15,SBNC,{47},Jay Pellegrini III,Covington La.,,24,1 Lap
16,SBNC,{48},Ronald Nielsen,Gainesville Ga.,,23,2 Laps
17,SBNC,{38},Chi Ho,Orlando Fla.,,10,Crash
18,SBNC,{34},Ben Anderson,Minneapolis Minn.,,8,Mech
19,SBNC,{32},Larry Fraser,Novato Calif.,,6,Mech
DNS,SBNC,{46},Craig Ames,Laguna Niguel Calif.,,,DNS

46:28.769
MX Margin of Victory: 1.849 seconds
SBMX Margin of Victory: 4.717 seconds
Laps Led: #44 1-8; #24 9; #44 10-25
Fastest Race Lap: #4 Kyle Loustaunau 1:41.584 (79.312 mph)
Battery Tender Hard Charger: #77 Hernan Palermo, +8

Image: Patrick Gallagher took home his first win in the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Credit: Al Merion Padron