MX-5 Cup: Mazda salesman Bender wins race 2 at Road America

Danny Bender scored his first career Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires race at Road America as part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville. Patrick Gallagher finished second with John Dean in tow in a race that served as Round 10 of the 2015 championship campaign.

The 12-lap race at the famed 4.048-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit averaged only 63.526mph because the first five laps were run behind the pace car as low-hanging fog kept race control from turning the cars loose due to low visibility. With the 45-minute clock already ticking, the green flag flew on lap six. With a wet track surface to deal with, drivers were forced to choose whether to run on wet or dry tires. That decision would prove to be very crucial to which driver would leave with the win.

Bender started deep in the field, in 12th, but once the green flag came out, Bender pushed his No. 28 ModSpace MX-5 methodically toward the front of the pack. Before heading out on track Bender chose to run on dry BFGoodrich R1-S tires. He credited that choice as key to his win. In addition, Bender has deep knowledge of both the Mazda MX-5 he drove and the race circuit as he is a Mazda salesman at Autobarn Mazda in Evanston, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago. En route to the win, Bender also was the Battery Tender Hard Charger, improving 12 positions.

"The first part of the race was interesting," Bender said. "Some of the drivers were on drys and others were on wet tires. We went out on drys, which I thought would give us the advantage, and it did on the winning pass. Some of front runners had the advantage in the brake zones, but I was able to get through the turns a lot better. I went to the outside of the Carousel, where there was a lot of grip, and was able to get by one. I also made an outside pass in Turn 13 stick to take the lead. I think the tire choice was the thing that allowed us to do that.

"This is a one-off weekend for me, so being able to win against guys that have been racing here all year is awesome.

Gallagher, in his No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping, kept himself in the razor-sharp championship battle with Dean. Coming into the race weekend, Gallagher was the leader by a solitary marker. Following two pole positions and a race win for Dean, the momentum had momentarily shifted. However, finishing ahead of Dean during this round brought to momentum back into equilibrium.

"Everyone was on different tires, so different people were fast in different parts of the track," Gallagher said. "The differences between speeds weren't subtle either, they were like night and day. We were faster than everyone else through the Carousel, the Kink and Turn 13. I think we made the right choice on tires, but could have done some different stuff with chassis setup.

"We certainly gained points this weekend, so we took a step in the right direction. Now we head on to Road Atlanta with this Atlanta Motorsports Group car. It's home turf for the team, and my favorite track. Qualifying points are going to end up being huge there."

In the No. 16 Bulb Jacket/PPG/Sick Sideways MX-5, Dean looked to be in the catbird seat as the polesitter circulating behind the pace car. When the green flag dropped Dean took advantage of the wet conditions and his slick tires to put a large gap between himself and the rest of the field. By the ninth of 12 laps, the field had closed the gap to Dean. Dean was unable to hold off Gallagher who took over the lead, then saw his position drop to third as Bender drove around both drivers to take the lead, on lap 11.

"I'm super excited with where we finished," Dean said. "That's the best we could have hoped for today. We could have made some setting changes that would make the car behave better under braking, but these other guys drove a heck of a race today. It was a real pleasure to be out there with those guys.

"It was difficult with the fog, but I was able to get a good jump once we went green. I pulled a bit of a gap, but wasn't able to hold onto it because of some mistakes I made under braking. I learned I just had to brake early, which left the door open for a lot of people. It was a good weekend for points, for both me and the team. We go home with our heads held high."

Dean's Sick Sideways teammate, Nathanial Sparks, finished fourth in his No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Sick Sideways MX-5. Sparks, who finished just off the rear bumper of Dean, began the race in the same formation just two places further toward the front of the field. Once the green flag dropped on lap six, Sparks was swallowed up by the rest of the field, dropping as low as fifth. However, Sparks was able to battle back, making his way up to third before settling in fourth.

Drake Kemper, at the helm of the No. 99 Royal Rugby/Mazda Motorsports Development/BFGoodrich Tires MX-5, was embroiled in close-quarters combat for much of the 12-lap race. Kemper started fourth, but gained a position once the green flag was displayed. The battle for third raged until lap 10, where Kemper was relegated to the fight for fifth place.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Sam Adams scored the win utilizing traffic to his advantage in the treacherous conditions. Starting third in class, Adams was able to pick off the winners as then-class leaders Robby Foley and Nikko Reger ran into traffic at the tail end of the Cup field.

"I knew it was going to be hard to gain much ground once we went green since we had run so many laps already under yellow," Adams said. "I got stuck in traffic during the opening laps, but once I found some open track I saw the leaders getting closer.

"When we started catching the back of the Cup pack, the class leaders got slowed down. So, I was able to just reel them in from there. We were on dry tires, so I felt we had the advantage in places while other drivers had the advantage elsewhere."

Ben Albano finished the race second in his No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5. Albano finished on the bumper of Adams finishing just 0.132-second behind. Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, crossed the line fourth in class.

In the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Dean retakes the top spot in the standings with 540 points. Gallagher sits only seven markers back, with Sparks sitting at 491 points.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Foley jumps to the top of the standings with 555 points. Albano is one marker behind Foley, with Adams in third with 547 points.

Complete results from the event can be found at www.MazdaMX-5Cup.com.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Results from Saturday's 45-minute Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round 10 race, part of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Road America 180 Fires Up by Johnsonville at Road America with position, class, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, laps, and gap.

1,MX,{13},Daniel Bender,Northbrook Ill.,MX-5,12,
2,MX,{3},Patrick Gallagher,Thornville Ohio,MX-5,12,0.498
3,MX,{1},John Dean II,Sebring Fla.,MX-5,12,1.337
4,MX,{2},Nathanial Sparks,Spanish Fort Ala.,MX-5,12,1.563
5,MX,{4},Drake Kemper,Toluca Lake Calif.,MX-5,12,2.655
6,MX,{8},Dean Copeland,Bowie Md.,MX-5,12,4.64
7,MX,{7},Peter Portante,Plainville Conn.,MX-5,12,11.372
8,MX,{15},Matt Koskinen(R),Harper Woods Mich.,MX-5,12,11.9
9,MX,{6},Kyle Loustaunau(R),Vacaville Calif.,MX-5,12,12.466
10,MX,{16},Nick Igdalsky(R),Berwyn Pa.,MX-5,12,12.678
11,MX,{10},Devin Jones,Mooresville N.C.,MX-5,12,20.728
12,MX,{9},Zach Lee,San Antonio Texas,MX-5,12,39.443
13,MX,{18},Mitch Wright,Bowling Green Ky.,MX-5,12,41.105
14,MX,{17},Alex Bachoura(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,12,43.817
15,MX,{14},Ara Malkhassian,Houston Texas,MX-5,12,55.438
16,MX,{11},Sarah Montgomery,Lafayette La.,MX-5,12,01:21.9
17,MX,{19},Keith Jensen(R),Dallas Texas,MX-5,12,01:36.7
18,MX,{20},Charles Paquin,Ottawa Ont. Can.,MX-5,12,01:40.4
19,MX,{5},Timothy Paul,Mahopac N.Y.,MX-5,1,overheat
20,MX,{12},Hernan Palermo(R),Houston Texas,MX-5,,0

1,SBMX,{23},Sam Adams,Richfield Wis.,SBMX-5,12,
2,SBMX,{24},Ben Albano,Greenwich Conn.,SBMX-5,12,0.132
3,SBMX,{21},Robby Foley,Randolph N.J.,SBMX-5,12,12.035
4,SBMX,{22},Nikko Reger,Houston Texas,SBMX-5,12,19.208
5,SBMX,{25},Bryan Hixon,San Antonio Texas,SBMX-5,12,51.667
6,SBMX,{26},Kieron O'Rourke,Grand Cayman,SBMX-5,,53.252

Image: Daniel Bender brought home his first career Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup win in a one-off effort at Road America.
Credit: Art Fleischmann