For only the second time in his 12-year sprint car racing career, Brody Roa raced a winged car last Saturday night and came home ninth in the Kings of Thunder main event at the Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, California. Next up for the veteran driver is two wing races with the legendary World of Outlaws at the end of March.
Saturday’s race came on the same Keller Auto Speedway where Roa made his winged debut a year ago. However, this race was vastly different from that first effort.
“I am calling last week’s race our first real attempt with a wing,” the Garden Grove, California driver explained. “The first time we took the wing out it was kind of one of those ‘we are going anyway situations.’ All of my focus was on Jason’s car (Jason May’s 360 USAC West Coast non wing car) that night. Putting wings on my car that night was basically to make some laps in it. That is all it was about. So I really consider Saturday as our first real attempt at wing racing with a focus. I was really happy with the way it turned out.”
Saturday’s Kings of Thunder race was the “Dave Helm Memorial” and it featured some of the fastest wing sprint car drivers in the Golden State. Roa was less than a half-second off the third-fastest car in hot laps (he was one of the last cars out for qualifying but problems with the clocks saw officials revert to hot laps for times). For his heat race, he started and finished seventh.
In his #91R car that looked a bit strange to his legion of fans due to the wings, Roa started the main in 13th. He kept his nose clean and advanced forward to finish ninth. His lap 11 time of 14.486 was the ninth-fastest time of all the starters in the race.
“They are really fast,” Roa laughed when asked what he learned about racing winged cars. “It is weird. You know, being in the world of sprint cars, wing cars carry a lot more corner speed. Until you get into the seat, it is hard to imagine how far you drive into the corner on the throttle. I never really got there all night. I kept getting farther and farther into the corner on the throttle but it has been 12 years now driving a non-wing car and I am trying to tell myself to throw it all out the window and drive in farther.”
With the way things went for Roa on the night, he has confirmed that his next two races will be in sprint car racing’s most famous series, the World of Outlaws. Those races will come on March 25th at the Bakersfield Speedway, and March 26th at his home track, Perris Auto Speedway.
“That is our plan, Roa confirmed via phone on Tuesday night. “That is why we are doing that practice at Perris the week before the next race. Just going to go out and burn 100 laps or so to get me some seat time. Going to Bakersfield first will be nice. Somewhere that is a little bit slower and slicker. Then go to Perris where it carries a lot of speed. Obviously, they are tracks I am comfortable at. We are going to go with that plan. I think we will be all right.”
Roa also confirmed that he will be doing six more-winged races (that includes the two World of Outlaws dates) in 2022. You can see those dates and all of his other dates on his race schedule at the end of this release.
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/.
In 2022, Roa will race USAC/CRA, USAC National, and other select events, in his #91R BR Performance/HD Industries Eagle. He will also drive the #8M for May Motorsports in select USAC West Coast events. The 2019 USAC Southwest and 2017 USAC West Coast champion is always open to discussing other driving opportunities.
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, Coopers Propane, Ten West Towing, Ten West Environmental, TJM Distribution, and Westco International for sponsoring the #8M he will pilot for Jayson May on 10 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.
Fans can learn more about Roa and the team at https://www.brodyroa.com/. Fans can also check out the team news at 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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