Bobby continued his historic World of Outlaws Late Model Series campaign Friday night, charging from the sixth starting position to win the $20,000 Southwest Iowa Shootout at Adams County (IA) Speedway.
After settling into fifth during the opening laps, Bobby quickly began carving his way toward the front. He advanced to fourth by lap four and crossed the line in third one lap later before sliding into second entering turn one.
A caution on lap six found Bobby trailing the leader by 2.3 seconds, but it also presented an opportunity.
On the restart, Bobby wasted no time, throwing a slider entering turn one to briefly grab the lead before another caution negated the move and sent him back to second for the next restart.
The battle at the front was just beginning.
A less favorable restart allowed Bobby to settle back into second as he continued searching for a way around the leader. He made another bid for the top spot entering turn one, but couldn’t quite make the pass stick before a caution on lap 12 reshuffled the field once again.
Following the restart, Bobby slipped to third but quickly regrouped, reclaiming second at the flagstand on lap 15 while trimming the leader’s advantage to 1.5 seconds.
As the race settled into a long green-flag run, Bobby steadily reeled in the leader. A close call with a lapped car on lap 25 briefly slowed his momentum, but it wasn’t enough to derail the charge.
Three laps later, Bobby slid underneath the leader entering turn one and briefly took command before the position changed hands again. This time, however, Bobby wasn’t finished.
On the following lap, Bobby completed the winning pass down the backstretch and never looked back.
A caution on lap 30 brought the field back together, but Bobby immediately reestablished control. He stretched his advantage to 2.1 seconds by lap 32, increased it to 2.5 seconds one lap later, and built a three-second lead before another caution on lap 35 erased the margin.
The final restart proved no different.
Bobby quickly drove away once again, rebuilding his lead to 2.5 seconds with four laps remaining before crossing the finish line 3.1 seconds ahead of the field for his 20th World of Outlaws victory of the season.
“I was devastated when I-80 went away,” Bobby said. “I think this is I-80. It has those long straightaways with those tight corners and a nice amount of flat on the bottom and then progressive banking on up.”
Bobby credited an earlier visit to the speedway for helping him find the winning line.
“Really glad I came here for the Lucas race to learn for tonight,” he said. “We definitely learned a lot. It’s a fine line up there on the top. Luckily, I was able to stay on it. You throw it in there and the crumbs from the bottom might be there and sometimes they might not be. I felt like when I caught Nick, those crumbs moved from the bottom to the top entering turn three. I sent it in there hoping it would stick, and it got a good bite right there.”
The constantly changing surface demanded Bobby’s full attention throughout the 45-lap feature.
“It takes a lot of focus; it’s very mentally draining,” he said. “But that’s what I like. I like it when it’s kind of finesse on the top and you could roll the bottom and do a diamond line through the middle with lots of different lines. It was a lot of fun.”
The victory marked Bobby’s 20th World of Outlaws triumph of the season, extending his record-setting campaign.