MX-5 Cup: Dean adds another pole at Road America

John Dean, of Sebring, Florida, captured the pole for Friday's Round Nine of the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires as part of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America. Nathanial Sparks, of Spanish Fort, Alabama, finished second, followed by Patrick Gallagher, of Thornville, Ohio.

Dean only needed four laps of the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course to take the top spot of the starting grid for the weekend's first race. His third lap proved to be the best as he stopped the clock at 2:37.799 (92.350 mph) in his No. 16 Bulb Jacket/PPG/Sick Sideways MX-5. What made the run more notable is that Dean's car suffered gearbox damage necessitating a replacement before the race."The car felt really good on the new tires," Dean said. "That's always a gamble since the car will always react to the new tire. But, we've been doing this long enough that we can anticipate how those changes will make the car act. Based on what the car was doing during practice, I knew the car would come to life with the new tires."The first lap felt really fast, but the time wasn't quite there. As I went on the lap times came down, which gave me a little relief. Right now, we're focused on where Patrick [Gallagher] is in the lineup. I'm excited to have taken both poles and for Nathaniel [Sparks] to be there in second is huge, with Drake [Kemper] right behind. If we can get together in a three-car draft we're going to be tough to beat."Sparks, in his No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Sick Sideways MX-5, will start Round Nine of 2015 from the second spot after throwing down a best lap of 2:37.836 (92.329 mph). Starting from that position will shift the advantage toward the Sick Sideways squad as that will allow Dean and Sparks to work together early on."I drove hard and ripped it out there," Sparks said. "Ending up in second was the best spot I could start from. I took a lot of liberties out there slinging the car in and taking it deep. I'm glad it was all able to come together in one good lap."Gallagher will take the standing start in third after turning a best lap of 2:38.016 (92.224 mph), right behind Dean, in the No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5. As a result of the qualifying results Dean is now the leader in the championship standings, however a good finish in this race will dictate the next turn in the title fight."We struggled yesterday with some issues," Gallagher said. "We missed quite a bit of practice so we didn't know what we had coming into qualifying. We're going to throw some things at it before the race. Copeland started off the front row and won both races last year, so it's really going to come down to who's going to be there for the last lap."Qualifying may not be so important at this race track, but it becomes very important from a points perspective. Hopefully in the race we'll put some space between our car and Dean's No. 16."Drake Kemper piloted his No. 99 Royal Rugby/Mazda Motorsports Development/BFGoodrich Tires MX-5 to a fourth place grid position after turning a best lap of 2:38.058 (92.199 mph).Gallagher's teammate, Peter Portante, will start right behind him in the No. 24 Intercity Lines MX-5. Portante's best lap was a 2:38.224 (92.102 mph).In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, will start on the pole position of the class for the spit start after logging a best time of 2:42.592 (89.628 mph). Nikko Reger, of Houston, and Sam Adams, of Greenwich, Connecticut, will start second and third with lap times of 2:43.316 (89.231 mph) and 2:43.823 (88.955 mph), respectively.Race One the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires is scheduled for a green flag start at 11:30 a.m. (CDT), later that day. The final race of the weekend will start Aug. 29, at 8:30 a.m. (CDT).Complete results from the first two sessions of practice can be found at www.MazdaMX-5Cup.com.Like the series on Facebook, at Facebook.com/MazdaMX5Cup, and follow the series on Twitter and Instagram @MazdaMX5Cup.ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - Starting line-up for Friday's SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round Nine race, part of the Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America 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 Fla.,MX-5,2:37.799,92.352,MX,{8},Nathanial Sparks,Spanish Fort Ala.,MX-5,2:37.836,92.3293,MX,{44},Patrick Gallagher,Thornville Ohio,MX-5,2:38.016,92.2244,MX,{99},Drake Kemper,Toluca Lake Calif.,MX-5,2:38.058,92.1995,MX,{24},Peter Portante,Plainville Conn.,MX-5,2:38.224,92.1026,MX,{7},Dean Copeland,Bowie Md.,MX-5,2:38.246,92.097,MX,{6},Timothy Paul,Mahopac N.Y.,MX-5,2:38.301,92.0588,MX,{4},Kyle Loustaunau(R),Vacaville Calif.,MX-5,2:38.372,92.0169,MX,{12},Zach Lee,San Antonio Texas,MX-5,2:38.666,91.84610,MX,{35},Devin Jones,Mooresville N.C.,MX-5,2:38.907,91.70611,MX,{14},Sarah Montgomery,Lafayette La.,MX-5,2:39.307,91.47612,MX,{34},Matt Koskinen(R),Harper Woods Mich.,MX-5,2:39.349,91.45213,MX,{77},Hernan Palermo(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,2:39.455,91.39114,MX,{11},Ara Malkhassian,Houston Texas,MX-5,2:39.637,91.28715,MX,{28},Daniel Bender,Northbrook Ill.,MX-5,2:39.751,91.22216,MX,{27},Nick Igdalsky(R),Berwyn Pa.,MX-5,2:39.934,91.11817,MX,{32},Keith Jensen(R),Dallas Texas,MX-5,2:40.555,90.76518,MX,{17},Alex Bachoura(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,2:40.746,90.65719,MX,{29},Mitch Wright,Bowling Green Ky.,MX-5,2:41.129,90.44220,MX,{72},Charles Paquin,Ottawa Ont. Can.,MX-5,3:03.366,79.4741,SBMX,{65},Robby Foley,Randolph N.J.,SBMX-5,2:42.592,89.6282,SBMX,{68},Nikko Reger,Houston Texas,SBMX-5,2:43.316,89.2313,SBMX,{67},Sam Adams,Richfield Wis.,SBMX-5,2:43.823,88.9554,SBMX,{61},Ben Albano,Greenwich Conn.,SBMX-5,2:43.950,88.8865,SBMX,{63},Bryan Hixon,San Antonio Texas,SBMX-5,2:44.438,88.6226,SBMX,{62},Kieron O'Rourke,Grand Cayman,SBMX-5,2:45.004,88.318Image: John Dean took the top position in qualifying for Round Nine of the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup at Road America.Credit: Art Fleischmann