Bobby returned to crown jewel glory in a big way Saturday night, charging from the eighth starting spot to win the prestigious $75,000-to-win Show-Me 100 at Lucas Oil (MO) Speedway. The victory marks Bobby’s second career Show-Me 100 title, with his first coming back in 2017.
It wasn’t an easy road to the front for the “Smooth Operator,” who found himself back in ninth just nine laps into the 100-lap main event. He steadily climbed to third with just over 50 laps remaining.
Bobby made his first move for the lead with 46 laps to go, driving into second before a caution stalled his momentum. He restarted on the bottom and briefly slipped back a spot, but by lap 66, he had clawed back into second. From there, it was a methodical run through traffic that allowed him to reel in the race leader and make the winning pass on lap 69.
Bobby went on to lead the final 32 laps, stretching his advantage to two seconds at the finish, sealing a $75,000 payday and his latest crown jewel triumph with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
Despite a tough weekend leading into Saturday’s feature, Bobby and his team nailed the setup when it mattered most. “I didn’t think we had a car that could win tonight — we were all pretty well in the dumps,” Bobby admitted. “I know I was pretty negative. We stunk all weekend. We were like five or six tenths off in qualifying, heat race, we just couldn’t hit on anything. But the track really came around. You could really drive it in different lines, and that’s what I was waiting on. The track was awesome tonight. It’s great that it pays $75,000 now. Hats off to Lucas Oil for putting this on, and thanks to the fans for supporting it.”
Navigating the tricky Lucas Oil surface took patience and precision. “The cushion was tough — you know how this track with the wall is, it doesn’t really build a cushion on the track,” Bobby explained. “It had a little rut there you kind of set your right-side tires in, and sometimes it would grab and go, and sometimes it would toss you, and sometimes it would make you lose, so it was tricky to hit every lap. That’s how this track has been all weekend. It’s a very finesse racetrack — you can lose a lot of ground with one mistake like that. It was a really fun racetrack. I was waiting for that track all weekend.”
With the win, Bobby not only added another crown jewel to his growing résumé but proved once again that no matter the adversity early in the weekend, he’s never out of the fight when the big money is on the line.