Brody Roa Wraps up Chili Bowl Run – Yuma Next

Brody Roa wrapped up his annual winter trip to Tulsa Oklahoma at the 36th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals last Saturday night. When all was said and done, the veteran driver had advanced all the way up to one of the C main events before bowing out of the competition.

For the 2022 edition of the world’s largest midget race, Roa once again wheeled the Ramco Speed Group/Precise Racing Products/Jambo BBQ Pits/MBR21/Hwy. 380 Pawn/Bell County Electrical Supply/Ramey Built/MBRA-21 Honda #7M inside the massive SageNet Center. The six-day event, which sees each driver race on two days, drew a record field of close to 400 cars, and nearly 90,000 spectators. In addition, millions of fans around the world were able to watch Roa compete live on Flo Racing and MAVTV.

Roa, who will celebrate his 31st birthday next week, contested his Chili Bowl preliminary night on Wednesday, January 12th. That evening matched him up against 79 other drivers from all disciplines of racing. Tasked with getting one of the 24 main event spots was a tough proposition for Roa and every one of his competitors.

The Garden Grove, California-based racer and his Texas-based team proved to be up for the Challenge. Roa moved forward in three of his four starts on the preliminary night and finished exactly where he started in the other.

For his eight-lap heat race, Roa started inside row two. Normally that would sound great, but in a show that leans heavily on passing points, it can be costly. Roa’s biggest challenge in the race was to not get passed by other cars and lose points. That in fact happened when he moved forward to finish second. That put him in the seventh starting spot for one of the night’s qualifiers.  

 

Early in his qualifier, he got stuck on the outside.  With cars racing side by side in front of him, passing was at a premium and he finished in the same spot that he began in.

For the B main, Roa began on the outside of row three and used the top to his advantage when he drove to a second-place finish.  That earned him a ticket into the night’s finale.

For his opening night A main, Roa moved forward again. After beginning in the 19th spot, he moved up four positions and took the checkered in 15th.  That earned him a ticket into one of Saturday’s D main events.

At Saturday’s finale, Roa and his crew had a long wait. But when you have a long wait on the last day of the Chili Bowl, that is a good thing. The day started with a pair of Q main events at 9:30 A.M.. Starting in those early mains means you did not have a real good preliminary and it also meant you were in all likelihood going to miss the coverage of the last three mains on MAVTV.

Roa’s preliminary night performance earned him a start on the outside of the front row for the first 15-lap D main. After running the outside most of the time on his prelim night, he showed his versatility by running the pole and coming home second. That earned him one of the coveted tickets into one of the C main events.

The second C main saw Roa starting in the 17th spot in the 20-car field, and he had to pass 12 cars to transfer to one of the B mains. Early on he was inching his way forward in the 15-lapper, but a stop on the track on lap six sent “The Pride of Garden Grove” to the back for a restart with just nine-laps to go. The veteran driver moved forward once again when the race restarted, but time was not on his side. When the checkered flag fell, he was in 13th and his Chili Bowl was done for 2022.

In six starts over the two nights of racing in Tulsa, Roa passed cars and advanced forward from his starting spot four times. The only two times he did not move forward, he finished in the same spot he started in, and thus, he did not lose a single position in the 2022 Chili Bowl.

With the Chili Bowl in his rearview mirror, Roa and the crew are prepping the #91R sprint car for next week’s USAC/CRA season opener at the Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona. It will be a three-night affair on January 27th, 28th, and 29th.

Brody Roa merchandise is available online. You can see it all in his store which is packed with great items including t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, beanies, baby onesies, plush blankets, jigsaw puzzles, stickers, notebooks, tote bags, wine tumblers, mugs, bandana pet collars and more. To check it out, please visit the following website https://www.brodyroa.com/shop/.  

Roa and the team want to thank the following sponsors for making the 2022 season possible. HD Industries, Burris Racing, Sander Engineering, Inland Rigging, “Biker” Bruce Fischer, Competition Suspension, ALR Virtual Services, K-1 Race Gear, Molecule, Rod End Supply, and Baldwin Filters. In addition, the veteran driver offers thanks to Fastenal, Coopers Propane, Total Lubricants, Marina Pools, TJM Oilfield Distribution, Certex, and “Biker” Bruce for sponsoring the #8M he will pilot for Jayson May on select occasions in 2022.

If you or your company would like to jump on board and receive recognition throughout the 2022 racing season, please give the two-time USAC champion racer a phone call or drop him a note at the contact information on the top of this release. You can also contact him if you would like to put him in your sprint car or midget when his schedule permits.

To view Roa’s online portfolio and learn more about the team, please click on the following link https://www.teamwithbrody.com/. Fans can also check out the team website at  https://www.brodyroa.com/ and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/br91r/.  To keep up with May Motorsports, please check out and “like” its Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MayMotorsports8M

BRP PR