MX-5 Cup: Dean claims Road America race 1

John Dean, of Sebring, Florida, scored the win in 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. Patrick Gallagher, of Thornville, Ohio, and Peter Portante, of Plainville, Connecticut, completed the top three positions.

The race, slowed by two full course yellow flag periods, averaged 72.923 mph around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course. The first full course yellow, which lasted one circuit of the course, was brought out as a result of an incident that involved Hernan Palermo in Turn 11. The second was brought out by an incident involving Ara Malkhassian. In both cases the drivers were OK.Dean, in the No. 16 Bulb Jacket/PPG/Sick Sideways MX-5, started at the head of the 20-car field and was scored in that position on all but one of the 14 laps run during the 45-minute timed race. Gallagher was the only other driver to be scored at the front of the pack."It is a bummer to finish a race under a yellow flag," Dean said. "But, maybe it's better because I'd hate to see anyone else go home with a broken car or not be able to race tomorrow."I'm happy with the way the car ran, and for points this is really good for me. It was also a good day for Nathanial [Sparks], too. All three of our cars were up there for a while running really well."In his No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5, Gallagher was hoping for a final restart and green flag lap to see if he could snatch the win away from Dean. With the help of his teammate, Portante, Gallagher said he could have made a serious challenge for the win."We had the best car in the field," Gallagher said. "Going through the carousel was fun for me because the cars were either getting bigger or smaller, depending on the mirror I was looking at. If it would have gone green, we may have been able to get a bigger trophy and more points."Hats off to John [Dean] for the race he ran. It's just the way it was. We had the most outright pace. Once Kemper and Copeland dropped out of the race, I knew it was going to be tough since Dean and Sparks were working with each other. I finally got Peter [Portante] up there and I thought to myself, 'Let's go.' Second is the least damage we could have done from a point perspective."Portante finished the race in third after completing laps as close to the front as second place in the No. 24 Intercity Lines MX-5. Like Gallagher, Portante said he could have presented Dean with quite a challenge had the race finished under green-flag conditions."At Road America, this is what we expect," Portante said. "It's going to be a close race. No matter how fast or slow you are, you're going to have a shot. I think that fact helped us out a lot. We had a couple issues with the brakes in the middle of the race, but the draft kept us in it."We were really disappointed that we couldn't finish under green. They do green flag tows, here and the track crews are usually pretty quick. It was just unfortunate they couldn't get it cleaned up before time ran out. For the mid-race restart I was second and tried a move for the lead, but lost a position. I hoped we would have another lap to make that up, but it is what it is."Nathanial Sparks finished the race in fourth, after rolling of the gird second, in his No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Sick Sideways MX-5. Sparks was in the middle of fight for the win for the entire 14-lap race, but was pushed back to fourth by Dean and Gallagher.Chicago-area driver Daniel Bender completed the top five in his No. 28 ModSpace MX-5. En route to the finish, he gained five positions from his starting spot of 10th. That earned him the Battery Tender Hard Charger award of the race.In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, was the class winner. He started from the class pole and never looked back."The car has been handling pretty well," Foley said. "So, I felt pretty confident coming into the day even though this is a huge drafting track. I knew I was really fast in couple key spots, which would help me keep the lead. I was able to play the strategy just right and stay ahead of the other guys just enough to where they couldn't get a good draft on me."The setup is pretty good and we're looking for the chance to repeat tomorrow."Completing the class podium was Nikko Reger, of Houston, and Sam Adams, of Richfield, Wisconsin.Round 10 of the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires is scheduled for a rolling start Aug. 29, at 8:30 a.m. (CDT).Complete results from the event 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. – Provisional results from Friday's 45-minute Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round Nine race, part of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America with position, class, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, laps, and gap.1,MX,{1},John Dean II,Sebring Fla.,MX-5,14,2,MX,{3},Patrick Gallagher,Thornville Ohio,MX-5,14,1.3153,MX,{5},Peter Portante,Plainville Conn.,MX-5,14,1.7294,MX,{2},Nathanial Sparks,Spanish Fort Ala.,MX-5,14,2.3615,MX,{15},Daniel Bender,Northbrook Ill.,MX-5,14,3.0326,MX,{7},Timothy Paul,Mahopac N.Y.,MX-5,14,3.4357,MX,{10},Devin Jones,Mooresville N.C.,MX-5,14,4.3348,MX,{8},Kyle Loustaunau(R),Vacaville Calif.,MX-5,14,4.899,MX,{11},Sarah Montgomery,Lafayette La.,MX-5,14,5.91410,MX,{16},Nick Igdalsky(R),Berwyn Pa.,MX-5,14,6.96611,MX,{17},Keith Jensen(R),Dallas Texas,MX-5,14,8.06612,MX,{20},Charles Paquin,Ottawa Ont. Can.,MX-5,14,8.97413,MX,{18},Alex Bachoura(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,14,9.94814,MX,{9},Zach Lee,San Antonio Texas,MX-5,14,12.74615,MX,{19},Mitch Wright,Bowling Green Ky.,MX-5,12,2 Laps16,MX,{14},Ara Malkhassian,Houston Texas,MX-5,11,3 Laps17,MX,{13},Hernan Palermo(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,8,crash18,MX,{4},Drake Kemper,Toluca Lake Calif.,MX-5,8,crash19,MX,{6},Dean Copeland,Bowie Md.,MX-5,4,crash20,MX,{12},Matt Koskinen(R),Harper Woods Mich.,MX-5,,wheel1,SBMX,{21},Robby Foley,Randolph N.J.,SBMX-5,14,2,SBMX,{22},Nikko Reger,Houston Texas,SBMX-5,14,0.1853,SBMX,{23},Sam Adams,Richfield Wis.,SBMX-5,14,0.4994,SBMX,{24},Ben Albano,Greenwich Conn.,SBMX-5,14,3.2595,SBMX,{26},Kieron O'Rourke,Grand Cayman,SBMX-5,14,3.7536,SBMX,{25},Bryan Hixon,San Antonio Texas,SBMX-5,,mechImage: John Dean captured the win in Round Nine of the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires at Road AmericaCredit: Art Fleischmann