Todd Ventura: The Man Behind Roth Motorsports

TULARE, Calif. – Many drivers have contributed to the lasting legacy of Roth Motorsports, including legendary names like Danny Lasoski, Sammy Swindell, Tim Kaeding, Joey Saldana, and several more.

Their efforts have helped cement Dennis and Teresa Roth as some of sprint car racing’s most impactful team owners ever – owners who will again be honored during the Dennis Roth Classic at Thunderbowl Raceway this weekend.

But there’s a name that came before all the others, one that may not be as recognizable as those above, but is just as important to Roth’s success over more than three decades. That name is Todd Ventura.

Ventura is Dennis Roth’s nephew and started racing in his youth. When Roth’s fandom brought the California team to life in 1992, he tabbed Ventura as the driver.

Early success set the stage for what would grow into one of the sport’s powerhouses.

“Dennis was a fan and had a successful business and wanted to become a car owner,” Ventura explained. “So, I said, ‘I’d like to try to drive.’ The first car was a 360 (cubic inch engine), and it was all white and No. 4 because he goes, ‘I don’t know if you’re any good, and I don’t want my name on there if you’re not any good.’ So, we started and did okay. It was enough to where we had our home-built motor, and our first engine was from (Ron) Shaver.

“I think we started in 1992. In 1993, we won the 360 track championship at Hanford (Kings Speedway). Brent Kaeding won the 410s. I won the 360s.”

The next year, Ventura suffered an injury that ended his time behind the wheel, but it was far from the end of his connection with his uncle’s organization.

Ventura remained closely involved with Roth Motorsports as they established themselves as one of sprint car racing’s premier teams.

Across the decades – as the team has racked up 125 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victories with 16 different drivers, countless accomplishments on the West Coast, and many other accolades – Ventura has been a key piece of the puzzle in a managerial role.

The last few years have seen Ventura help write another important chapter in the team’s history. He’s been a driving force of the partnership between the team and Toyota as they’ve developed the TRD 410 sprint car engine.

Oddly enough, the Toyota engine’s first World of Outlaws win was also the 100th as a team for Roth Motorsports, when James McFadden won at Volusia Speedway Park in March of 2023. That was the start of something special that continues to grow for Toyota.

McFadden topped five more races that year, and the team brought Kofoid aboard halfway through the season in another car. Kofoid added a victory at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway that fall.

Since then, Kofoid has become the primary Roth pilot as McFadden spends more time in his homeland of Australia. With Kofoid joining the World of Outlaws full-time in 2024, the team has been operating arguably as good as it ever has.

The Penngrove, Calif., native took the No. 83 to seven victories in his rookie campaign and has already amassed 11 checkered flags this year with 16 races remaining. Among those are a pair of six-figure paydays at Huset’s Speedway in June, including the largest winner’s share in series history, $250,000.

Their 11 wins this season are the most since bagging a dozen in 2000 and the third-highest total ever tallied by Roth Motorsports in a single year.

“To me, the Toyota [Racing] Development side of it was where I was more involved,” Ventura said. “For them to believe in us was special. We had a really good group at the time, being Buddy (Kofoid), Dylan (Buswell), Brent (Ventura), and James (McFadden), and they were all open minded.

“To see what we are three or four years later and how it’s evolved into what it is, in all honesty, makes me very proud of that part of it with the success we’ve had.”

The weekend ahead presents a special two nights for Ventura and everyone involved with Roth Motorsports. Next on the agenda for The Greatest Show on Dirt is the fourth Dennis Roth Classic at Thunderbowl Raceway, which serves up a fitting $83,000 finale payday as a nod to Roth’s car number at the team’s home track.

Tulare is a track that Dennis Roth helped secure its first World of Outlaws race in 2003.

“Dennis and Steve Faria go way back,” Ventura said. “Steve got an Outlaw race because of Dennis being a car owner. At that point, with Ted (Johnson), you had to have a connection, and Dennis was his connection. Steve and Dennis became close friends, and we’ve always considered Tulare our home track and have great respect for Steve and everybody there.”

But this weekend is more than a race. It’s a time to celebrate Dennis Roth and all he’s done for the sport, as well as a time to look back on how far they’ve come and all the people that have been a part along the way, after a passionate race fan started a team in the early 1990s and put his nephew in the seat.

“The biggest part to me is the relationships,” Ventura said. “I don’t know of too many guys that have ever worked for Dennis that still don’t come up and shake his hand and say hello, or they come to me and ask how Dennis and Teresa are doing.”