The great season for USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series point leader Brody Roa continued when he posted a second and third place finish in the two-night Hall of Fame Classic at the Arizona Speedway on September 28th and 29th. The finishes see him carrying a 30-point lead heading into the next race at Perris Auto Speedway on October 20th.
On opening night at the 1/3 of a mile-high banked clay oval in San Tan Valley, Arizona, Roa timed in fifth quick in the 21-car field with a lap of 15.299. That placed him on the inside of the third row in his heat race. It was a heat that proved to be tough, but the 27-year-old advanced to third at the checkered flag.
For the first night main, the Garden Grove, California based driver started on the outside of the second row. At the end of the first circuit, he was third and went one spot better by the end of the fifth lap. He set his sights on the leader, but eventually slipped back to third on the eight go around.
It took ten laps, but Roa eventually wheeled the #91R back to second. The veteran driver got involved in a great battle for the second-place spot and eventually closed in on the leader in lapped traffic late in the race, but a victory was not to be, and he settled for a hard-earned runner-up finish. It was his fifth, second-place outing in the USAC/CRA Series this year.
“We were pretty good for two or three laps after a restart when the tire cooled down,” the point leader said after the race. “After that, we were just hanging on.”
The second night of the Hall of Fame Classic did not start off as well as the first night did. Roa qualified nearly one-second slower than the previous night with a lap of 16.270. That was only good for 15th fastest in the 21-car field. Things improved when he started on the outside of the front row and led every inch of the way to win his 10-lap heat race.
The qualifying attempt continued to haunt Roa into the main event when he had to start on the outside of the seventh row in the 14th position. He did not stay back there long! Using every inch of the track from the top to the bottom, he immediately began to march towards the front of the pack. By the end of the first lap he had advanced to 12th and by the end of the fifth lap, he had moved up seven more spots to break into the top five.
The crowd-pleasing charge continued when he captured the fourth spot on the 11th go around and ten laps later he took third. Roa eventually chased down the second-place car and pulled even at the white flag. However, he was on the bottom and two lapped cars slowed his progress and he was forced to settle for third.
“We did some things on the car for the main and to come from 14th to third is a big deal for this team,” the affable driver told the crowd afterward. “We can show up with a better package next time. The driver kind of screwed us in qualifying tonight. I think we would have had something for them (the first and second place finishers) if we had not started so deep.”
Counting the October 20th race at Perris, there are only six races remaining in the 2018 campaign.
Brody Roa t-shirts and caps will be available in the pits at Perris. 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 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