USAC/CRA Sprint Car star Brody Roa put on a show last Saturday night at the Santa Maria Raceway when he came from last to finish 3rd in the 30-lap main event. The result gave Roa podium finishes in all four of the USAC/CRA races at the track over the past two seasons.
Seventeen cars showed up at the track located three hours north of Los Angeles. Roa began his evening when he stopped the clocks third in qualifying with a lap of 13.679. The time put the 27-year-old on the inside of the third row for the first heat race. He placed fourth on the hooked-up track in the ten-lapper despite battling a brake issue that resulted in him tagging another car on the last lap.
After the heat, the BR Performance team jumped on the brake problem to get the car ready for the main event. The pretty, bright green #91R was slated to start on the inside of the third row in fifth. However, before the field could take the green flag, Roa steered the car back to the work area as the brake issue was back.
The crew made some quick repairs and sent the #91R back onto the track. However, as the rules dictate, his trip to the work area meant he would have to start dead last instead of fifth. Once the green flag flew, Roa went to work in a hurry. By the time a red flag halted the action on lap five, he had passed a dozen cars and was up to fifth. A couple of laps later, he had picked off another car and was then up to fourth.
Roa chased down and hounded the stubborn third-place car for several laps until he took the spot away with an inside pass coming off turn four on lap 18. A few laps later, he was able to challenge for the second-place spot, but time ran out with the checkered flag ending the race with Roa taking a hard earned third place finish.
Since the outset of the 2017 season, Roa has been the most consistent driver in USAC/CRA competition at Santa Maria with two wins, a second-place finish and now a third in four races.
“We had some brake issues in the heat race,” Roa told the crowd after the race. “We thought we had it fixed for the main. It sat in the pits and it had a good pedal. We pushed off and it (the brake pedal) went straight to the floor. I pumped it about a hundred times a lap the whole race just to keep a little pedal in it. I think we could have had something for Max (winner Max Adams) maybe if we could have drove it into the corner with some brakes. We will take it for the night we had and try to get our stuff together.”
Roa remains in second place in the USAC/CRA standings and will continue his pursuit of the championship at the annual “California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night” at Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday, August 18th. With thousands of extra dollars up for grabs including the $2,000.00 “Junior Kurtz Trophy Dash,” Roa and the other series stars will have their elbows up at the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval.
Brody Roa t-shirts and caps will be available in the pits at Perris on August 18th. They are also available from the team’s website at the following link http://www.brodyroa.com/. The cost is $20.00 plus shipping.
For fans who would like to watch replays of all of Roa’s USAC races can do so on LoudPedal Productions site: https://loudpedal.tv/
Roa is still looking for rides in the USAC National and West Coast Series’ when his USAC/CRA schedule (which is at the end of this release) permits. Car owners from those series interested in hiring Roa can call him at 714-932-7994.
The BR Performance team would like to thank the following sponsors for making the 2018 season possible: HD Industries, Burris Racing, “Biker” Bruce Fisher, Molecule, K-1 Race Gear, Norma Leonard, Lee Leonard, NGK Spark Plugs, Baldwin Filters, Driven Racing Oil, Coffman Racing Graphics, hotpaint4u.com. If you or your company would like to join BR Performance’s championship contending team, please call 714-932-7994.
Fans wishing to stay completely up to date with Brody Roa and the BR Performance squad can do so on the team’s website http://www.brodyroa.com/ and Facebook page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/br91r/
For Further Information Contact Brody Roa mailto:brodyroa91@gmail.com
Release produced by Scott Daloisio (909) 226-7768 or mailto:sdaloisiosports@aol.com