Brody Roa Shines in Return to Sprint Car Racing With Second-Place Finish in the Salute to Indy
2026-06-02 23:02
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Cypress, CA — May 29, 2026 — In his first sprint car start in more than six months, 2023 USAC/CRA Champion Brody Roa looked anything but rusty when the series visited Perris Auto Speedway for the 73rd running of the Salute to Indy on Memorial Day weekend. The veteran star thrilled the crowd as he rim-rode his way to an impressive second-place finish.
Roa's absence from the sprint car wars was caused by something that has plagued many racers in recent months — waiting for engine parts. When the night finally arrived to get back on the track, the 2021 Salute to Indy champion was extremely pleased with the car's performance. He timed in third fastest in qualifying with a lap of 16.887 on the famous Southern California clay oval.
For his heat race, the 2019 USAC Southwest Champion and 2016 USAC Western States Sprint Car Champion started fifth and stormed forward to score a convincing victory in the eight-lapper.
In the 30-lap main event, Roa rolled off from the outside of the second row. He slipped back to sixth by the completion of the opening circuit but immediately began working his way toward the front. He advanced to fifth on lap three and moved into fourth following a lap-eight restart. After a multi-lap, crowd-pleasing battle for third, Roa finally wrestled the position away.
He appeared destined for a third-place finish before catching a break late in the race when the second-place car suffered an engine failure, allowing Roa to move up one more spot and cap his return with a runner-up finish.
"I think we just missed it (set up) a little bit in the main event," Roa said after the race. "We put something on the car that we tried a couple of years ago, but it did not make the grip I thought it would."
"It was good to shake the rust off. Heat race win and second in the main, can't complain much about that. Hopefully, we can come out next month and knock off a win. The track was a ton of fun tonight. I love it when it is on the wall like that. Lots of new people involved with the team and room on the car for anybody else who wants to be involved in a sprint car team."
Roa will now enjoy three weeks away from competition before climbing back into the cockpit for the next USAC/CRA Series race at Perris on June 20th.
The following marketing partners have backed Roa for the 2026 campaign. ALR Virtual Services, Biker Bruce, Caltrol, Innovative Sewer Scope and Plumbing, Big Chino Ranch, Molecule, Shaver Racing Engines, Barnes Pumps, and Specialized Coatings. If you would like to get involved and be a partner, contact Roa at the following mailto:brodyroa91@gmail.com - 714-932-7994.
Brody Roa 2026 Results
1/16/26 Tulsa Expo Center Chili Bowl Nationals 9TH B Main
1/17/26 Tulsa Expo Center Chili Bowl Nationals 15th G Main
5/23/26 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 2nd A Main
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This release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com