The first year Perris Auto Speedway opened, Brody Roa was a wide-eyed 5-year-old sitting in the grandstands. This Saturday night, when the track celebrates its 23rd birthday, the now 28-year-old comes into the “So Cal Showdown” as one of the crowd favorites and tied for the point lead in the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. The veteran driver and his fellow racers will be performing before one of the largest crowds of the year as Saturday’s event will also feature the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and The PAS Senior & Young Gun Sprints.
After a busy stretch where he raced five times in two weeks, Roa has had a couple of weeks off before the season kicks into high gear this Saturday. From now through the middle of November, if you are looking for the Garden Grove based driver on weekends, the best place to start will be at a racetrack. After Saturday, he only has one scheduled weekend off until the middle of June.
Roa had a great weekend when the USAC/CRA Series kicked off its 2019 campaign in Peoria, Arizona three weeks ago. In two nights of racing, he placed second and third in the main events. Those two finishes propelled him into the current tie at the top of the point standings.
The weekend prior to the USAC/CRA Series opener, Roa steered his #91R to a third place in the USAC Southwest Series main event at Central Arizona Raceway. He currently sits alone at the top of the Southwest series standings and will be back in action with that group at the Arizona Speedway on April 20th.
Roa heads into Saturday’s race coming off a fine record at Perris in 2018. In nine races on the Riverside County half-mile clay oval, he had five top-five finishes and seven-top tens. Highlighting the efforts was a pair of second-place finishes on April 21st and September 22nd.