This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, January 27th through the 29th, Southern California Sprint car racing veteran Brody Roa will return to a track that holds a fond memory for him. The track is Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway and this week it hosts the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series’ first three races of the year. Ten years ago this coming June, Roa, then only 21 years old, scored his first-ever 410 sprint car win when the series raced on the same track.
Brody Roa in action at the end of last season at Perris Auto Speedway. Doug Allen photo.
Roa, who turned 31 today, first competed on the “Copper State” track in a 360-sprint car a month prior to his attention-grabbing initial 410 win. He has not been back to Cocopah since the series contested two races there in 2013. That makes it four races total for the friendly driver on the beautiful 3/8-mile racing facility that is 10-miles north of the Mexican border.
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago,” the Garden Grove, California resident said when reminded how much time had passed since that first win. “Really it seems like just yesterday. From the same point, it seems like the last time we were at Cocopah (2013) was ages ago.”
Since that win, a lot has changed in sprint car racing and in the life of the now-married father of a 17-month-old little girl.
“Probably nothing,” Roa stated when asked what he can use from that win for this week’s races. “I am obviously a different driver the last nine or 10 years. The cars are different, and we are not even on the same tire anymore. But we found our notebook from 2012 and found out what gear we ran. So, I guess we will take something from 10-years ago to this year.”
Since the series has not been to Cocopah since 2013, all the drivers are pretty much coming into the event on a level playing table. In fact, many of the current drivers were not part of USAC/CRA when the troupe last appeared there. Roa is one of the drivers who remembers the track fondly.
“I did 10-years ago,” Roa quipped when asked if he liked the Cocopah track. “Really, I am excited to go back there. I have wanted to go back since the last time we were there. The last time it went rubber down on like lap three, so it was not a whole lot of fun that time. But the track itself is fun and the casino across the street is cool.”
The makeup of Roa’s #91R team will certainly be different this time around. The time he won there, it was a total family effort.
“When we won in 2012, it was just me, my dad, my grandpa, and my Uncle B,” Roa said. “Zac was not around (Zac Bozanich, now Roa’s award-winning crew chief) and I did not even know Joe (longtime crewman Joe Gibb) yet. It was just myself and my family.”
Roa goes into the 2022 season after a successful year in 2021. Of the 28 sprint car races he started last year, he won four of them, finished in the runner-up spot four times, and placed third six times. He ended up with 17 top-five finishes and 21 top 10s. The only series he ran for points in last season was the USAC/CRA Series where he ended up second in the championship standings.
Roa fans who want to watch “The Pride of Garden Grove” in person this week, can find Cocopah Speedway at 3450 West County 15th Street, in Somerton, Arizona (85350). Spectator gates will open at 4:00 p.m. each day with USAC/CRA cars on the track for hot laps at 6:00. Racing and qualifying will follow. The track phone number is 602-292-7607 and the website is http://www.racecocopahspeedway.com/.
For fans who cannot make it to Arizona for the race, all three nights will be shown on https://speedsport.tv/.
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 RDM Mechanics, Fastenal, Coopers Propane, Ten West Towing, Ten West Environmental, TJM Distribution, and Westco International 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 as a team partner 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 him to drive your sprint car or midget when his West Coast 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
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