Bobby added another crown jewel to his growing list of career achievements Saturday night, cashing in a $50,000 payday in the Knoxville Late Model Nationals at Knoxville (IA) Raceway. He started on the pole of the 75-lap Lucas Oil Series-sanctioned race and seized the lead on the opening circuit. He pulled away from the field until a restart on lap 35, when he briefly lost the top spot. However, he regained the lead on lap 43 and never relinquished it.
“That was the problem with being first on the restart,” Bobby said. “The track was going through a transition; if you went to the top, you might get passed on the bottom, and vice versa. Hudson [O’Neal] got by me, but it looked like he was struggling. He got a little tight off turn four, and I had a good slider going into turn one. From then on, it was just nerve-wracking, trying to hang on to the lead and not jump the cushion. Back with Dunn-Benson in 2018, I think I slid Jimmy [Owens] for the lead and then jumped the cushion, and I ended up not winning the race because of it. The last time I was here two years ago, I had mechanical issues while leading that took me out of the race. It feels great to win this one. This place is awesome—so unique. Everything about this track is different, and it doesn’t race like anywhere else. It’s a lot of fun out there, and I’m glad to have had a fast race car to win tonight.”