Bobby capped off the three-night Dairyland Showdown with an impressive runner-up finish Saturday night at Mississippi Thunder (WI) Speedway, charging from 15th to second in the $40,000-to-win World of Outlaws Late Model Series finale.
After falling back to 17th in the opening laps, Bobby went to work on the high side of the momentum-driven track, steadily carving his way through the field. By lap 13, he had already climbed back into the top 10.
Continuing his march forward, Bobby broke into the top five by lap 32 and kept the momentum rolling. He moved into fourth on lap 36, then into third just two laps later as he closed rapidly on the front runners.
By lap 41, Bobby had powered into second and set his sights on the leader, who held nearly a two-second advantage at the time.
Undeterred, Bobby ripped the cushion and reeled him in, shrinking the gap to just a few car lengths as the race approached its closing laps. A caution on lap 48, however, reset the field.
The late yellow set up a two-lap shootout to the finish, but Bobby was unable to generate the restart he needed to mount a challenge for the lead and ultimately settled for a strong second-place finish.
“Possibly if it stayed green,” Bobby said when asked if he had anything for the leader late in the race. “I caught him from a little ways back and didn’t need the caution. I just couldn’t get going on the restarts. Every restart he pulled me a little bit, and then with two to go, you don’t want all that hard work to go to waste by jumping the wall or hitting the cushion.”
“I decided to let him go and be happy with second. A great night for us—we rebounded really well. A big thanks to the crew for all their hard work all weekend.”
The performance highlighted a strong rebound for Bobby, who opened the weekend with a victory on Thursday before being knocked out of contention Friday night on a one-lane surface.