Bobby captured the $20,000-to-win Tennessee Tipoff with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain (TN) Speedway.
Starting from the outside of the front row, Bobby settled into second during the early stages of the 50-lap main event while the race leader set the pace. By lap 12, the leader encountered lapped traffic with Bobby close behind and applying pressure.
A caution with 32 laps remaining slowed the field while Bobby continued to run second. On the ensuing restart, he slipped back to third as the bottom groove became the preferred line during the middle portion of the race.
With 16 laps remaining, another caution regrouped the field with Bobby running third. When racing resumed, the top groove began to gain momentum as the second-place car moved to the high side and took over the lead. Bobby remained in third but steadily reeled in the leaders as the laps wound down.
The race took a dramatic turn with two laps to go.
As the leaders battled in the closing laps, a violent crash involving the top two competitors erupted directly in front of the field. Bobby quickly reacted, diving to the infield to avoid the incident. When the dust settled, Bobby inherited the lead and held on over the final laps to secure the win.
“It doesn’t feel like a win, but I’ll take it,” Bobby said afterward. “I hope Overton and Erb are okay. That looked like a pretty hard hit from my viewpoint. I saw it happening right away and was able to duck down to the infield, but I still felt like I almost was in the wreck. That’s just how big the wreck was.”
With the late incident setting up a single-file restart, Bobby focused on finishing the job with another contender close behind.
“When that did happen, it was me and then Nick on a single-file restart,” he said. “The stakes kind of got upped a little bit because not only was I competing for the win, but I had Nick behind me and I really wanted to beat him.”
Despite the unusual ending, Bobby credited his team for giving him another strong race car.
“A good night for us. We had a pretty good car,” Bobby said. “I think we’re building some more notes for this track, but it’s just awesome to get a win. No matter the circumstances, we’ll always take it.”
As the track surface evolved throughout the race, Bobby felt comfortable with the changing conditions.
“The track tonight felt a lot like Lake Cumberland or Ponderosa, but just not quite up on the wheel,” he added. “It got that Southern style driving there towards the end and yeah, I liked it.”
Bobby closed by thanking the team behind the No. 32 machine.
“Got to thank my crew guys for all their hard work,” he said. “That’s kind of what puts me in this situation. My dad and everyone, Longhorn, Ohlins, and Vic Hill — it wouldn’t be possible. I just try my best behind the wheel and they give me a good car. We had a good car this weekend, we’ll take it.”