(Cypress, CA, December 7, 2022) Nearly eleven months after it started, Brody Roa finished his 2022 racing season in the 81st annual Turkey Night Grand Prix at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway. Contesting the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series portion of the program in Jayson May’s pretty #8M sprint car, the Garden Grove, California driver ended up finishing 17th in the 30-lap main event due to some late-race bad luck.
The two-night program featured heat races, qualifiers, and a dash for the sprint cars on Friday night. An outstanding field of 49 entries showed up for the event. Drivers did not qualify but rather drew for positions in the Friday night heat races. Roa pulled a number that placed him in the second heat race on the famous 1/5-of-a-mile clay oval.
The 31-year-old started in the fourth position in his heat race. By the end of the opening go around he was second and was applying immediate heat to the leader. The veteran racer kept the pressure up all the way to the Kris Kornder checkered flag but he had to settle for second. The finish placed him on the outside of row number one for his 12-lap qualifier. From there, he steered the #8M into the lead and proceeded to stay out front every inch of the way. Two races down and everything was working to perfection. However, that was about to change.
With the heat and qualifiers out of the way, there was only one thing left for Roa on the night. That was the 15-lap dash for the top 10 drivers in points after the heat races and the qualifiers. The way they finished the dash would be the way they started the main event straight up. Roa was on the outside of the second row in fourth for the start. He stayed in that position over the first two circuits before slipping back to fifth on lap three.
On lap nine Roa moved back to the 4th place spot. That pass moved him up a full row in Saturday’s main if he could stay there. Everything went smoothly until lap 12. Entering turn three, the second-place car clipped one of the huge tires protecting the end of the crashwall at the pit entrance. That caused the car to spin and it also kicked the tire onto the track. The third-place driver, Roa’s teammate Chase Johnson, hit the tire and turned over. Roa, who was close behind, had nowhere to go and slid into the mess. For good measure, another car sailed into Roa and the red flag came out.
For all intents and purposes, it looked like Roa was done for the night. In fact, he climbed out of his car and took off his helmet. But after a closer look, he realized his car was not damaged as much as he thought. The veteran racer pushed his helmet back on, climbed back in the car, and bumped off for the restart. By that time there were only seven cars left in the race. That meant Roa had to restart at the back in seventh. In the remaining laps, he passed one car to finish sixth and start one spot closer to the front in Saturday’s championship main event.
Saturday night Roa and his fellow competitors were greeted by a near-capacity crowd at one of America’s most popular dirt tracks. In addition to the packed house, the race was also seen by thousands more around the world on Flo Racing. Being that he finished sixth in points the previous night, Roa did not have to race in any of the preliminaries. He was seeded right into the 30-lap finale and would start on the outside of the third row in May’s gorgeous #8M.
At the drop of the Chris Kornder green flag, Roa immediately went on the attack. However, the green flag was short-lived as the caution came out on the second circuit. For the restart, Roa was in fifth and he dogged the fourth-place car for the first 1/3 of the race. By lap 20, he had slipped back to seventh. As the race reached the waning laps, he was still in seventh, but with an engine issue and an overzealous driver clobbering him from behind, Roa was knocked from the action with two laps to go. He ended up 17th.
The Ventura result was not the way “The Pride of Garden Grove” wanted to conclude the season but he did have a very good year. He had 15 top-10 finishes and 11 of those were in the top five. Despite not running the full USAC/CRA schedule, Roa’s total of three wins was second-best on the circuit and he finished sixth in points. Highlights of the year included his win at Mohave Valley after he started 11th in the main event. At Santa Maria, he drove to the win in the 410 race in May’s 360 powered rocketship. He also had a win in May’s car in a USAC West Coast Series race at Ventura.
In addition to his non-wing endeavors, Roa, also qualified for his first-ever World of Outlaws main event at Perris on March 26th. It was only his second-ever race in the legendary series. The first came 24 hours earlier at Bakersfield.
While the 2022 season just ended, 2023 will kick off in just five weeks in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Chili Bowl. The sprint car season will kick off two weeks after that at the Cocopah Speedway in Arizona. In between now and Cocopah, the team will be working on cars, ordering parts, and exploring marketing opportunities with potential partners. If you would like to join forces with Roa for 2023, give him a call or drop him an email at the contact information at the top of this release.
To learn more about Roa and the team or to pick up some team merchandise, check out the website https://www.brodyroa.com/. Fans can also stay up to date by checking out the team news on Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/br91r/.
If you are looking to purchase a sprint car, Roa has a nice roller for sale. It is a 2021 Eagle 87/40 Raised Rail. It includes KSE Gen2 Steering, new in 2022, KSE Steering Pump, Winters Competition Eliminator 4.12 Rear End with swivel coupler, XYZ Birdcages, BMRS Plumbing, Plenty of Titanium, Carbon Body, Quick Car Gauges, Wilwood Brakes. Front axle length of buyer’s choice – 50” or 53”. No Fuel Tank, Shocks, or Seat. Quality Race Car! CSI Shocks and/or Saldana Fuel Tank can be added at additional cost. $9,900. Send an email address for a list of components. Brett – 562-230-1286 brett@brodyroa.com or Brody – 714-932-7994 brody@brodyroa.com.
Roa and the team want to thank the following sponsors for making the 2022 season possible. HD Industries, Burris Racing, Sander Engineering, Inland Rigging, Caltrol, “Biker” Bruce Fischer, Competition Suspension, ALR Virtual Services, K-1 Race Gear, Molecule, Rod End Supply, Driven Racing Oil, Baldwin Filters, and NGK Spark Plugs. In addition, the veteran driver offers thanks to RDM Mechanics, Fastenal, KC Keen Concrete, Coopers Propane, Ten West Towing, Ten West Environmental, TJM Distribution, and Westco International for sponsoring May’s #8M.
To keep up with May Motorsports, please check out and “like” its Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MayMotorsports8M
Brody Roa’s 2022 Schedule and Race Results
January 12 Tulsa Expo Raceway Chili Bowl Nationals 15th A Main
January 15 Tulsa Expo Raceway Chili Bowl Nationals 13th C Main
January 27 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 5th A Main
January 28 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 6th A Main
January 29 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 4th A Main
February 11 Central Arizona Speedway ASCS/CAS 360 5th A Main
February 12 Central Arizona Speedway ASCS/CAS 360 2nd A Main
February 26 Keller Auto Speedway King of Thunder 9th A Main
March 25 Bakersfield Speedway World of Outlaws 8th B Main
March 26 Perris Auto Speedway World of Outlaws 24th A Main
April 9 Keller Auto Speedway NARC King of the West Canceled
April 30 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA 6th A Main
May 28 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA 3rd A Main
June 11 Ventura Raceway USAC/CRA 2nd A Main
June 25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA 1ST A Main
July 22 Gas City I69 Speedway ISW – USAC National 9th C Main
July 23 Kokomo Speedway ISW – USAC National 7th B Main
July 24 Lawrenceburg Speedway ISW – USAC National Rained out
July 25 Circle City Raceway ISW – UASC National 19th A Main
July 27 Terre Haute Action Track ISW – USAC National Rained Out
July 28 Lincoln Park Speedway ISW – USAC National 8th B Main
July 29 Bloomington Speedway ISW – USAC National 16th A Main
July 30 Tri-State Speedway ISW – USAC National 16th A Main
August 6 Santa Maria Raceway USAC/CRA 1st A Main
August 20 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA 19th A Main
August 27 Ventura Raceway USAC West Coast 360 1st A Main
September 17 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA 3rd A Main
September 24 Ventura Raceway USAC West Coast 360 DNS
October 8 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA 1st A Main
October 15 Kern County Raceway USAC West Coast 360 17th A Main
October 28 Cocopah Speedway USAC National & CRA 15th A Main
October 29 Cocopah Speedway USAC National & CRA 15th A Main
November 3 Perris Auto Speedway USAC National & CRA 16th A Main
November 4 Perris Auto Speedway USAC National & CRA 17th A Main
November 5 Perris Auto Speedway USAC National & CRA 11th A Main
November 25 Ventura Raceway USAC West Coast 360 7th Dash
November 26 Ventura Raceway USAC West Coast 360 17th A Main
