Dean Ready for Road Atlanta

Allen Moody | Highlands Today | Published: September 15, 2015
SEBRING, FL:

John Dean II has been involved in racing for a number of years.  He says the two upcoming Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup races at Road Atlanta are the biggest races of his career.  This is going to be the most stressful race weekend I’ve ever had,” Dean said.  “I’ve never been in the scenario where there’s so much on the line.”  What’s at stake is the MX-5 Cup driver’s championship for 2015.  Also, heading into the final two races of the season, Dean has a seven-point lead over Patrick Gallagher.

Sick Sideways:

Dean’s Sick Sideways teammate Nathanial Sparks is in third place in the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup points standings.  Gallagher’s teammate with Atlanta Motorsports Group, Peter Portante, is fourth. Sick Sideways driver Drake Kemper rounds out the top five.  The difference between first and second-place finish is four points. Dean said.  So, you can see with two races to go, seven points is very little,” Dean said.  “Five points left, for pole positions.  Three points for pole number 1 and two points for pole number 2. There’s one point for leading a lap and one point each race for most laps led.  These little one points here and there and the points for winning a pole become very crucial championship points.”

Difference between First and Second:

The difference between ending the season in the first place or second place is quite dramatic.  If you win the championship you get $200K from Mazda to move forward to your next season,” Dean said. “That’s why so many people come into the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup. There’s no other place where they offer something like that. There’s huge motivation for all the drivers to win and that puts a lot of pressure on winning.”  Second-place receives about $3,500, Dean said, so there is definitely a bit of anxiety to go around.  

Road Atlanta:

We have a few weeks before Road Atlanta and that’s a lot of nights sitting around worried about the race and whether we’re going to bring this championship home and win this thing,” Dean said.  “It will be huge for me as well as for Sick Sideways.  It will definitely jump-start our business as far as moving forward to bigger and better things.  We’re all working as hard as we can to make that happen.”  With such a difference in the payouts to the top two finishers.  There are likely more than a few worries.  One concern may be that some driver’s teammates may go out of their way to lend a helping hand.  Dean said he doesn’t want to see anything like that from his drivers.  

Concerns:

I think every team is going to be worried.  They may all be thinking “are these guys going to get their teammates to take me out”?  Dean said, “as far as I am concerned, this absolutely is not acceptable on our end”.  “I definitely do not want my guys to do that.  Because taking someone out would make us look bad.  That’s not what we’re here to do.  We want to win fair and square and without any confrontation and drama at the end of the season.”  The Pro Racing Regulations of the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup also allow the President of SCCA Pro Racing to impose a fine of up to $250K.  This fine can go to any participant for “conduct detrimental to the Organization,” which should ensure a level playing field.  Dean is no stranger to Road Atlanta.  Dean raced there in the MX-5 Cup the previous three seasons. He has raced a few other times.  Road Atlanta is also the home track of Atlanta Motorsports Group.  Dean knows from first-hand experience how valuable that can be.

A Few Problems:

The problem, that’s AMG’s home track, so they’ll probably have an advantage as far as set-up,” he said.  “Like when you see us at Sebring, we’re really hard to beat there.  Road Atlanta could be the same way, but working against us.”  One thing working to Dean’s advantage is that Road Atlanta favors teams which work well together.  Few teams do as well as Sick Sideways on that score.  We’re very good working as a team.  Sparky and I especially.  That could play out in our favor,” Dean said. “Some of the other guys may not work together as well as we do.  Also,  as a team, we’re very motivated to help each other out.  That’s hard to find with two competitive people.  I would love to have Sparky and I fill two of the podium spots at the end of the Championship.

The Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup:

I know that will mean a lot to Sparky and his family, but it also would mean a lot to me as a team owner.”  Dean said it’s been a great season so far, as all three Sick Sideways cars are in the top five of the points standings for the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup. This shows the consistency and strength of the team, although he would obviously prefer the final standings look exactly the same as they do now after the two Road Atlanta races.  One unique aspect of the race to the wire is that both Dean and Gallagher had a mechanical failure at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, which usually is enough to dash a driver’s championship hopes.  A DNF like that is usually the end of the championship,” Dean said. “Either of us could have had a 30-point lead. At that time the points were really close between me, Gallagher and Dean Copeland.  Also, all three of us had a mechanical failure in the same race. That’s unheard of.

Working With a New Sponsor:

Dean is also working with a new primary sponsor in Bulb Jacket this season and he said the company has been a pleasure to work with.  The Bulb Jacket people are awesome,” Dean said. “They really brightened up the livery of the car, that’s for sure. The car looks great. The biggest thing in having Bulb Jacket with us is it came with such a positive environment. They’re very upbeat and that’s actually very helpful at the track because things get so tense during these races. It’s awesome to have some people there smiling and rooting you on. That goes a long way.”  Dean said he was also appreciative of the Chin Motorsports people for helping with testing and track days, as well as the gang at PPG for helping to keep the car looking good.  

Probably The Best Season:

This is probably the best season ever to have a PPG sponsorship,” Dean said. “We haven’t done any major damage to the cars, but lots of panels and we’ve been using a bunch of PPG paint to respray a lot of our cars, so big thanks to PPG for helping us out in that matter.”  There will be three 30-minute test sessions at Road Atlanta on Tuesday, Sept. 29, followed by two 30-minute practice sessions on Wednesday. The first race takes place on Thursday, with the final race of the season taking place on Friday.