The “Pride of Garden Grove,” Brody Roa, saved one of his best performances of the year for his last race of 2019 at the “52nd Annual Western World Championships” at the Arizona Speedway last Saturday night. The impressive performance netted him the USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series Championship. The title was his second in USAC competition in the past four seasons. The other being the 2016 USAC West Coast championship.
After the previous week’s “Oval Nationals” at Perris Auto Speedway, Roa and his team switched back to the family-owned #91R car and it paid dividends in the Copper State. However, the weekend proved to be challenging after a main event tangle on Friday night.
After qualifying 22nd and finishing fourth in his heat race on Friday, disaster struck in the main event. A car in front of Roa blew a tire triggering a multi-car crash. That tangle snared the Garden Grove, California veteran and he got clobbered from behind in the fracas. The crash tore the rear end and suspension out of the car ending the 28-year old driver’s night with a 20th place finish. The crew, with some help from some other teams, thrashed until the wee hours of the morning to get the car ready for Saturday’s finale.
A little sleep-deprived, the team arrived back at the track with a 20-point advantage going into the final race of the season and the title on the line. Roa qualified 23rd. He then could only manage a sixth-place finish in his heat. That forced him to contest the B main where he finished third and punched his ticket into the last main event of the campaign.
Roa still had the upper hand on the title coming into the A main event. However, he wanted to win the championship the right way and that way was not to rest on his laurels. He wanted to race for it! Starting near the back of the pack in the 22nd spot, he immediately let everyone know he was on a mission. By the end of the second circuit, Roa had powered the #91R up to 14th. Three laps later he was up to 11th and when the checkered flag ended the season, he was 10th and the championship was his with 18-points to spare. In addition. He was the race “Hard Charger” for passing the most cars in the main event. His rewards for that included two giant jars of money in memory of longtime Arizona sprint car fan Ellen Ellis and a handle of Crown Royal.
Roa’s triumph was the first-ever for a California driver in the USAC Southwest Series and it came in the first year the series featured 410 cubic inch engines.
“I did this one (championship) in three cars and it was trying,” the happy champ told the crowd after the race. “To jump back in our family car and get it done this weekend is pretty special. These guys (family and crew), no matter what car I drove, they traveled with me. So, it was special to get it done in this car for them. It is special to win this championship and get a few wins in each series is cool, too.”
The other series Roa was referring to was the USAC/CRA Series. After leading the standings in that division for the early part of the season, he ended up third.
The day following his impressive championship-clinching performance, Roa was a guest on Dave Stall’s “Racer Radio Show.” To listen to the show, click on the following link http://perrisautospeedway.com/radioshow.html and then click on the “11/17/19 Brody Roa” listing.
Roa will get some time to enjoy the holidays with family and friends before returning to action in the annual “Chili Bowl Midget Nationals” in Tulsa, Oklahoma in January.
The BR Performance team would also like to thank the sponsors that make the 2019 season possible. HD Industries, Burris Racing, “Biker” Bruce Fisher, Molecule, K-1 Race Gear, Norma Leonard, Lee Leonard, The Golden-Vibe Boutique, NGK Spark Plugs, Baldwin Filters, Driven Racing Oil, Wilwood Brakes, Coffman Racing Graphics and Bill’s Smokey Mountain Jerky. If you or your company would like to join BR Performance’s team for a championship run in 2020, please call 714-932-7994.
Car owners, if you are looking for someone to shoe your car
during the 2020 season, contact Roa at the phone number and E-mail in this
release. He will be available to race any night that is not in conflict with
his regular racing calendar.
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/