Bobby put a wrap on his season Saturday night with a runner-up finish in the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome. He started 12th in the 40-lap race but didn’t stay there long. He methodically picked off drivers one by one on a very tight 1/5-mile track until reaching second by the 30th circuit. He ran down the leader and was ready to make his move for the win. However, disaster struck on the final lap. As Bobby powered down the backstretch, his car suddenly slowed, the victim of a broken driveshaft. The mechanical failure dashed any hopes of victory as he limped to the checkered flag and held on to second.

“Something in the drivetrain broke, which figures, how rough I was bouncing,” Bobby said. “That one time I hit (a hole) extremely hard, and I had to get smoother again after that. That was actually the faster way around there, to enter the corner slower and then get back on it. I was driving so hard trying to catch him [Sheppard], I think that’s really what made it break that last corner there. He was kind of pulling me off (turn) two, and I had to get a good launch off the corner, and I kind of hung there for a second. So, I tried to get one last good lick of cushion to launch me on the backstretch. I think I might have hit the wall, and that’s probably what broke it. If it didn’t break, I was sending it in there regardless, whether I was 10 car lengths back or what. We were going for it.”

Bobby has completed his second season on tour with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. He made 41 starts, securing 14 wins, 29 top-five finishes, and 33 top-ten finishes. He captured the Prairie Dirt Classic for the first time after 11 years of heartbreak. He picked up his second consecutive USA Nationals victory and went back-to-back in the Gopher 50. Bobby finished runner-up in points after a flat tire in the finale at Charlotte derailed his chances of completing an epic championship comeback.

“We gave it all we had this weekend and just came up a little short,” Bobby said. “I would’ve liked to see how things would have played out without the flat tire. I wanted so badly to come all the way back and win the title for all of my fans, whose unwavering support kept me going through the dark times early in the season. We fought hard and never gave up. I couldn’t be prouder of this team, as we’ve accomplished one of the best dirt late model seasons in the history of this great sport. Thanks again to all of my supporters! You guys are the best.”

What a difference a night makes. After a mid-pack finish on Thursday night, Bobby and his crew went to work, and their efforts paid off. On Friday night, he took the lead with three laps to go and went on to score the $15,000 World of Outlaws Series-sanctioned World Finals prelim at the Charlotte (NC) Dirt Track.

“Night and day, we were a lot better with the setup,” Bobby said. “I knew right away—when I got to fourth early on, then to third, and then to second—that we had a car that could possibly win. I started searching around, found the top, and it was way faster, so I thought, ‘Here we go.’ When I got the lead, I was just hoping I didn’t jump the cushion, but I think the car got better as the race went on. I think my tires probably look great, and I just can’t thank my crew enough. They gave me a good car. I was worried after drawing that six pill, you know. I got pretty down on myself because when you start third row, that’s tough. This competition is so stout—it’s tough to do that.”

Bobby led the first six laps from the pole but had to charge back to the front after pitting to change a flat tire on the seventh circuit. “When that happened, I guess I had flashbacks to the Prairie Dirt Classic—going to the tail and coming back to the front,” Bobby said. “I was just trying to get back to a podium spot, a good finish.”

“Then, when we got rolling and reached second, catching Devin (Moran), and I caught him, I knew I had a really, really good car to be able to do that.” He regained command on lap 36 and stayed in control for the rest of the 50-lap distance to pick up the $30,000 XR Super Series-sanctioned Mason-Dixon 100 on Saturday night at Pennsboro (WV) Speedway.

“The cautions came at the right time,” Bobby said. “But we had everything against us—the flat tire early on, a little scare there for a second, all the restarts, and that caution at the very end.”

Bobby led the final 19 laps to claim the $10,000 Mason-Dixon 100 prelim victory Thursday night at Pennsboro (WV) Speedway. He started second in the 25-lap XR Super Series race. “It’s pretty crazy to race here,” Bobby said. “There’s nowhere that compares to this racetrack in terms of the different corners. I don’t really know which corner is sketchier, honestly, because we’re hauling the mail into turn one, and then you’ve got to lock it up into turn three.”

Bobby added another crown jewel win to his résumé as he captured his first career Dirt Track World Championship victory on Saturday night at Eldora (OH) Speedway. He started 14th in the 100-lap Lucas Series race but didn’t stay there long. By lap 19, Bobby had reached the top five. He ran between fifth and seventh until making his run to the front in the second half of the race.

“Around the halfway point, I was worried,” Bobby said. “Sometimes I saw those other guys, and they would pull away. I got stalemated. When that caution came out on lap 65, I had just found that line down there in turns three and four, and I knew I had to get back down there. I think I restarted fourth and got to third with about 30 laps to go. I was pretty nervous because I knew I had a car that could win the race right then. So, I had to calm myself down.”

Bobby took second with 25 circuits remaining and made the winning pass on lap 84. From there, he ran away to an over eight-second advantage at the finish, scoring his career-best 35th win of the season.

“I have been eyeing this race since it moved from Portsmouth to here,” Bobby said. “I saw the hoodies and shirts with the guys’ names on them who had won this race before, and I wanted to be one of those names on the back of those.”

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.”

Bobby took the lead on the second lap from his outside front row starting position and built up an over three second advantage until he reached the back of the field. He briefly lost the top spot on lap 17 but regained it a lap later and stayed in control for the rest of the 25-lap distance, picking up the $7,000 Lucas Knoxville Nationals prelim victory on Friday night at Knoxville (IA) Raceway.

“I was a little tight even on the top; the car was laid over a little bit, so I really couldn’t get around there quite like I wanted to. But I can’t thank my guys enough for all their hard work and support, and all of these fans for coming out and watching us,” Bobby said. “We wanted to play that invert all night after yesterday. My one goal was to start up front and not in row four. We got lucky with the qualifying and the heat race, too. What an awesome night for us.”

Bobby captured the most prestigious race in the sport for the second time on Saturday night, taking the lead with five laps to go and securing the $57,000 World 100 crown jewel victory at Eldora (OH) Speedway. He initially grabbed the top spot on lap 23 from his third starting position. However, his time at the front was short-lived, as he fell back to second two laps later. He stayed close and regained the lead on lap 26, only to lose it again on lap 35.

“When the 49 (Davenport) took off, that was it. You know, that’s about all she wrote most of the time,” Bobby said. “I started — not catching him — but I saw he was in my view again, and there was only like one (lapped car) between us at the time. This was a little after halfway, and I was like, ‘Well, it’s early to start beating the wall down, but I’m going to start doing it.'”

Bobby regained the lead on lap 63 and stayed in control until lap 92. “I saw a black car, and (he) passed me. I saw the 17 on the car and thought, ‘Oh, he’s in the lead now,'” Bobby said. “I thought I was screwed because if Dale (McDowell) passes you on the bottom like that, you’re normally done. But when he caught the back end of that lapped traffic, he slowed up just a little, and I thought, ‘This is my shot.’ Luckily, I nailed my corners.”

Bobby seized control with a high-side pass on lap 96 and stayed out front the rest of the way. “What an awesome race, and an honor to go wheel-to-wheel at the end with two of the all-time greats,” Bobby said. “We gave it everything we had and were fortunate to come out with the win! We were finally able to get the car balanced to run the top in the feature. Huge thanks to my family, crew, and sponsors for all that you do for this team. Shoutout to ALL of the fans for being here tonight! YOU make this event what it is; we would be nothing without you guys. This place was electric this evening!”