Koch wins in flag-to-flag victory at the Grand Prix of Houston - Speedway Digest

After starting from the pole of Saturday’s Round Five of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires, part of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at NRG Park Kenton Koch, of Glendora, California dominated the race and finished finished the race with a 23-second lead.

His domination started during Friday’s qualifying session, where his No. 12 ALARA Racing/Mazda Motorsports/BFGoodrich Tires MX-5 finished the 30-minute qualifying session with best lap of 1:22.536 (71.270 mph). Koch said he was feeling very comfortable at the controls of his machine, and his lap time broke the previous qualifying record by 1.5 seconds.

“The car is very solid,” Koch said. “At this point the only thing that can go wrong is me. I think things are starting to turn around this season. I’ve gotten my head in the game.

Hot and humid conditions in the city that sits on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico created difficult conditions for Saturday’s race. The exhaustion could be seen on the faces of each driver as they climbed from their racing machines. The podium finishers, while standing in a sweat-drenched driver suit, were barely able to bring forth a smile for the victory circle photos.

“The car was great,” Koch said. “The car was handling so good that I barely felt like I was exerting any energy, but the heat really gets to you. There’s no breeze coming into the car, even though it’s an open cockpit, because the windshield just blocks it all. The air just gets deflected around you, and with these conditions it took a toll on me.”

While finishing second, Dean’s No. 16 Projections Research/PPG MX-5 sustained damage as a result of the uneven surface of the street circuit. The damage forced him to keep from driving his car at the absolute limit.

“This track is just brutal,” Dean said. “By the second or third lap, the brake master cylinder went bad. I had to put my foot to the floor just to get the car to slowed down. It didn’t matter how early I braked, it just wasn’t going to slow the car down.

Driving the No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Bimmerworld MX-5, Sparks completed the podium after starting in the ninth position. Consistent laps and patience were the two things that helped Sparks get to the front.

“Starting ninth, I knew I was going to have to play a waiting game,” Sparks said. “I stayed back, followed the pack and tried to make smart moves. On lap 23, a five other guys got bunched up going into turn three and I was able to pass four cars in the span of 100 feet. Once I got around them, I was able to stretch my legs and get out in front of them.

Joey Bickers, of Moorpark, California, brought his No. 29 Mazda Motorsports/BFGoodrich Tires MX-5 home in fourth. On lap 24, Bickers was able to make an outside pass by Lucas Catania stick as the two battled for position heading around the NRG Astro Dome.

Catania, of Cazenovia, New York, completed the top five positions. Starting from the inside of the third row, Catania nailed the standing start in his No. 17 Atlanta Motorsports Group/NY Spine & Wellness/SOS MX-5. Catania was able to pick up two positions before getting to the turn two chicane. However, by the start of lap two Patrick Gallagher had gotten back to third place, before dropping out of the race after making light contact with the concrete barrier just past Turn 9.

In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Drake Kemper, of Toluca Lake, California, led the class from beginning to end. Driving the No. 99 Royal Rugby SBMX-5, he made the most of his prime starting position, which allowed him to put some room between himself and second place.

“I couldn’t be more relieved,” Kemper said. “We had a great race without any serious incidents with evenly-spaced yellow flags. I was able to group up with a couple Cup cars and ran away.

Ben Albano, of Greenwich, Connecticut, drove to a second-place finish at the controls of his No. 61 Project Yellow Light SBMX-5. Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, completed the podium, holding the position from beginning to end.

Round Six of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires took place on Sunday, at noon (CDT).

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.