Through the first two races in the new Ultimate Sprint Car Series presented by Inland Rigging, one driver stands tall on the top of the win chart and the point standings. That driver is Garden Grove, California’s Brody Roa, who has won the first two races in series history. The second of the pair came last Saturday night at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway. This Saturday, May 25th, Roa will switch his focus to the 71st running of the Salute to Indy for the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars at Perris Auto Speedway.
441532058_10168778552795201_5508987932586511247_n.jpgBrody Roa in action at Perris Auto Speedway in April. Doug Allen photo.
The second night of racing for the USCS Series was pretty much as smooth as glass for Roa. That is, it was smooth as glass until a late race red flag made him work extra hard to score a narrow, photo-finish victory.
Roa’s 14.021 in qualifying was fourth best in the 21-car field. He followed the impressive time trial run with a win in his heat race. After starting fourth on “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval,” he led most of the main event. However, a late race red flag set up a green, white, checkered situation to end the second night in USCS history. Suddenly, the heat turned to raging hot when young Blake Bower came calling. It took everything Roa had to eek out the victory
“It was a pretty smooth night,” Roa said of last Saturday at the “Okie Bowl.” “Decent in qualifying. Got to the front in the heat race and just kind of drove around the infield tires and won that. I did the same thing in the feature but around the fence.”
Roa was anything but surprised by the thrilling run to the checkered.
“When I saw the #3 on the scoreboard, I knew Bower was good,” Roa responded when asked if he expected to be challenged after the late race red flag. “I remember looking at the lineup (before the race), and he was starting way back. So, I knew he had come through the field. I got a little defensive after the restart and I was kind of blocking the slider. That kind of opened it up for him to have a close finish like we did.”
After steering his own equipment to the USAC/CRA championship in 2023 and driving a couple of different cars earlier this year, Roa has been getting settled back into Jayson May’s top-of-the-line #8M for the first time since 2022. It has taken some time to adjust, but as evidenced by his two recent wins in the USCS, things are coming around nicely. He hopes things continue to do so Saturday at Perris. The first appearance of Roa in the #8M at the track affectionately known as The PAS, resulted in an eighth-place finish one month ago.
“We have had our challenges,” Roa said, about transitioning back to May’s car. “We just kind of struggled through the first few races getting everything comfortable for me. We have made some changes. He has gone above and beyond by putting some parts on it that I think work and that I have on my stuff. We have worked at it and I think we have all had our fair share of frustrations already this year. But the couple of races we have finished we have won. We cannot hang our heads about that. I feel we are really starting to get rolling now. The car was really comfortable right off the bat at Bakersfield on Saturday. I am looking forward to taking that comfort to Perris this weekend because the last time we were at Perris we kind of fought it all night. Hopefully, this one turns out a lot better than the last attempt.”
“It is huge,” Roa continued about Saturday’s Salute to Indy at Perris. “I still have the milk bottle (the bottle of chocolate milk the winner receives at the Salute to Indy) on our TV stand in the living room. Winning that one means a lot. I had the Oval Nationals Trophy somewhere around there, too. I guess that shows kind of how important that one was to me. It is a big deal in my mind.”
2024 is a different season for Roa. After the grind to win the USAC/CRA championship in 2023, he is racing for fun this season. The pressure of chasing a title is gone, and he is only chasing wins, not points. That is evident as, despite leading the USCS points, he will miss the next race at Ventura.
“I am going to miss the USCS race at Ventura in two weeks,” the veteran driver stated. “So, the points deal has not been a concern there. It is nice just going out to race. We did the same kind of deal a few years ago. 2021 I think it was. We put the wing on a few times and missed some CRA races. We just went to put the fun back in it. It is kind of cool doing that again this year. A championship is the biggest feat you can accomplish in this deal. Getting that done last year was really cool. Now it is nice just going out to race.”
Thanks to Braden Wassen from Fast Time Designs and Bobby Michnowicz from T Shirts By Timeless, Roa will have his brand new shirts available for the first time on Saturday. To get yours, see him in the pits after the night’s last race.
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For Saturday’s Salute to Indy, spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m., and the first race will take the green flag at 7:00. Adult tickets for the night of exciting dirt track racing and clean family fun are $30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00. For kids 6-12 it is only $5.00, and children 5 and under are admitted free. Advance tickets are available online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7. They can also be ordered by phone at 1-800-595-4849. We will have plenty available at the ticket window on Saturday for fans who do not wish to purchase tickets in advance. The fairgrounds charge $10.00 for parking.
The May Motorsports entry is sponsored by Winfield’s Racing Engines, RDM Mechanics, Cooper’s Propane, TJM Distribution, TJM Distribution, Ten West Towing, Arctic Sea Mining, Wesco International, Elite Signs and Fastenal.
Roa would like to thank his own sponsors, “Biker” Bruce Fischer, ALR Virtual Services, Burris Racing, Caltrol, Competition Suspension, Simpson Race Gear, Rod End Supply, Driven Racing Oil, Baldwin Filters, and NGK Spark Plugs. If you would like to be a marketing partner in 2024, contact Roa using the information at the top of this release.
@roygamityanauctioneer @burris_racing_usa @mikeburrisoc @csishocks @theoriginalloosebruce @alrvirtualservices @simpsonracegear @moleculesports @rodendsupply @baldwinfilters @ngkracing @originalngksparkplugs @usacnation @usac_cra @perrisautospeedway @b_roa91 @tai_xoxo_roa @joegibb83, @caltrolinc @narc410 @drivenracingoil
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