Dean puts Sick Sideways on Top Winning Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Round Two at Sebring

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John Dean, of Sebring, Florida, took home the win in Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires at Sebring International Raceway, part of the 63rd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Patrick Gallagher, of Thornville, Ohio, finished in second, followed by Nathanial Sparks, of Spanish Fort, Alabama.

 
At the controls of his No. 16 Bulb Jacket/PPG MX-5, Dean captured his ninth career win, becoming the winningest driver in series history. Starting in eighth, Dean found his way to the front in the opening laps of the race and battled with Gallagher for the lead at the 17-turn, 3.74-mile permanent road course. In the end, the race was decided on the last corner of a two-lap shootout following a full-course yellow flag. Additionally, Dean also won the Battery Tender Hard Charger Award after improving  seven positions.
 
“On Tuesday morning of this week I could have never anticipated, or wished, for the week that we’ve had,” Dean said. “I wasn’t feeling well leading up to his event. We didn’t qualify well, for whatever reason. The first race I drove well and had some luck on my side and we were able to podium.
 
“We had a late full-course yellow flag come out, and I was hoping we were going to finish under yellow, again, since I was in the lead. My team told me, on the radio, that we were going to have a green-white-checker finish, and I thought to myself that we were done. On the last lap, going into Turn 17, we were three wide. I was in the middle and thought the best case scenario would allow me to get one spot. The other guys got a little wobbly, and I was able to over-slow the car and get a great run  off of Turn 17. Patrick [Gallagher] drove me all the way to the wall, but I was just able to sneak through for the win by a few feet.”
 
Gallagher, in the No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5, was the official leader for five laps of the 17-lap race. He was unable to hold off Dean on the last lap, and finished the two-race event with a pair of podium finishes.
 
“I don’t know what to say,” Gallagher said. “We had a car to win, and Copeland said that he was going to go with us. I wasn’t sure that was going to happen. When it came down to it, I went to the inside and he [Copeland] went to the outside. We were able to get around Dean, but then I had to go to the left to keep Copeland behind me. That allowed Dean to sneak through.
 
“In the end, we lost by a couple feet. I’m just happy to be on the podium. We put on a good show today and I thing we have a really strong car for some of these other tracks where drafting is less important.”
 
Sparks started Round Two in third, in his No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Sick Sideways MX-5, and was able to hold station to finish in the same position in a wild race.
 
“I knew from the beginning that I was going to have to run a clean race,” Sparks said. “I was just running, trying to hold my position, since these are long races. At one point, I got a call from the crew that there were 20 minutes left. It about killed me.
 
“From there, I tried to fall in line and hold my position. It was a really tight battle out there with [Peter] Portante and Dean [Copeland]. I’m just glad I was able to come away with a podium finish. Honestly, I still don’t know what happened out there. All I know, for sure, is that I kept it clean out there and kept my nose straight and cruised home to third.”
 
Dean Copeland, of Bowie, Maryland, finished fourth for the second time in as many races at the wheel of this No. 7 Copeland Motorsports/Sync Speed Inc. MX-5. Staring in 11th, Copeland had gotten up to third by lap six and was in the mix of the lead pack for the remainder of the race.
 
Sebastian Landy, of Great Falls, Virginia, drove the wheels off of his No. 49 Mercury/Atlanta Motorsport Group MX-5 to finish fifth.
 
In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Sam Adams, of Richfield, Wisconsin, notched his first win of the young season. He relied on solid and consistent laps to put him in a position to win, at the end.
 
“I was hanging back in fourth and fifth for most of the race,” Adams said. “I never got up into the top two until the last lap. I was just trying to keep the tires in good shape throughout the race.
 
“When I saw the full-course yellow, I figured that was going to be how we finished the race. Luckily, we were able to go back to green for a couple laps. I was aggressive on the restart, and got pushed wide in Turn One. I was able to get back to the front and draft Robby [Foley] down the back straight. In the last corner I got around him for the win.”
 
Finishing second in class was polesitter Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, followed by Ben Albano, of Greenwich, Connecticut, in the No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5.
 
The next stop for the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires is scheduled for April 10-12, at NOLA Motorsports Park, as part of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana.
 
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Adam Sinclair
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