The Checkered Flag writes:

"The Bob Era: ARCA Racing from 1985 through 1996"

Posted by Mile501 on August 5, 2019

Viewed 620 times Tweet For a period of ARCA's history, many drivers who were running well and winning races were named Bob or Bobby. This blog takes a look back at some of the more interesting races during this era, including the years leading up to it, the peak of the Bob Era in the early 1990s, and the gradual end of the era in the mid 1990s.







1985 ARCA Results



1985-11 (Ozark): Based on the results that are available to us, the Bob Era began with this race as Bob beat Bobby and Bob for the win. This was the first recorded 1-2-3 finish where all the drivers were named Bob or Bobby.



1986-14 (Toledo): In a sign of things to come, there were 6 drivers in this race named Bob or Bobby. 4 of them finished in the top 10 (2nd, 5th, 7th, and 9th).



In the final 1985 standings, drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 4th, 8th, 10th, and 14th. But the Bob Era was just beginning.







1986 ARCA Results



1986-01 (Atlanta): This race was another sign of things to come, with 8 drivers named Bob or Bobby, though none finished in the top 5. There were 3 in the top 10, however (6th, 7th, and 9th).



1986-03 (Atlanta): 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in a row (9th, 10th, and 11th).



1986-05 (St. Louis): Bob beat Bob and Bob for the win, though the Bob who won led all 200 laps and finished 2 laps ahead of the other 2 Bobs. Another oddity is that Mike, Mike, and Mark finished 10th, 11th, and 12th.



1986-07 (Flat Rock): The top 7 finishers were Ed, Bob, Bob, David, Bob, Bob, and Bobby.



1986-08 (Kil-Kare): Drivers named Bob or Bobby took most of the odd-numbered finishing positions in the top 10. The top 7 finishers were Bobby, Lee, Bob, Bill, Bob, Bill, and Bob. They all finished on the lead lap. The other 2 Bobs in this race finished 12th and 14th.



1986-11 (Berlin): The top 6 finishers were Bob, Bill, Bob, Lee, Bob, and Bob.



1986-13 (DuQuoin): 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in the top 6 (2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th).



1986-15 (Owosso): 2 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 4th and 5th, but all the others had trouble and finished almost consecutively outside the top 20. The 21st-25th place finishers were Bob, Bob, Bob, Patty, and Bob.



In the final 1986 standings, drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 10th. All but one had 1 win during the 1986 season. Oddly, 8 of the top 10 drivers in points scored 1 win during the season, but none of them scored more than 1 win.







1987 ARCA Results



1987-02 (Atlanta): There were 5 drivers named Bob in this race, but 4 of them encountered trouble. The results show 3 in a row (27th-29th), all falling out of the race within 17 laps of one another.



1987-03 (Talladega): Bobby finished 4th, then 4 more drivers named Bob or Bobby finished consecutively from 9th through 12th. Two others were caught up in a big crash with 17 laps to go and finished 26th and 27th.



1987-07 (Rockford): Half of the 6 lead-lap finishers were named Bob, and they took all the even-numbered positions (2nd, 4th, and 6th).



1987-08 (Pocono): The 4 drivers named Bob in this race finished in an odd pattern, 4 positions apart from one another (1st, 5th, 9th, and 13th).



1987-10 (Kil-Kare): Similar to Pocono, the 4 drivers named Bob (only 2 of which were also in the Pocono race) nearly completed another pattern 4 positions apart, except for one who crashed near the end of the race. They finished 1st, 5th, 9th, and 19th.



1987-13 (Springfield): There were 5 drivers named Bob in this race, and all of them finished in the top 8 (1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th). There was one driver named Bobby who fell out of the race with a mechanical problem.



1987-16 (Salem): There were 5 drivers named Bob in this race. One crashed out, but the other 4 all finished in the top 7 (1st, 3rd, 6th, and 7th).



1987-17 (Atlanta): 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished between 3rd and 9th (3rd, 4th, 6th, and 9th).



In the final 1987 standings, drivers named Bob finished 3rd, 5th, 8th, 15th, and 16th. Those drivers ran most or all of the races. Farther down in points we find several drivers named Bobby who ran part-time (30th, 47th, 60th, 63rd, and 84th), but no driver named Bobby ran full-time or finished higher than 30th in points.







1988 ARCA Results



1988-02 (Atlanta): The finishing positions in the 20s had some interesting similar names in this race. The finishers from 21st through 28th were Bob, Dennis, Don, Billy, Bill, Bob, Bobby, and Bob.



1988-04 (Flat Rock): Half of the top 6 finishers were named Bob (1st, 3rd, and 6th).



1988-09 (Kil-Kare): The finishers from 4th through 7th were Bob, Bob, Bill, and Bob.



1988-11 (Salem): Drivers named Bob or Bobby were 1 position away from having a pattern of 3s at the front of the field. They finished 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th.



1988-14 (Delaware, ON): Drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th.



1988-16 (Springfield): Drivers named Bob occupied 4 of the top 10 positions (1st, 3rd, 4th, and 10th), while drivers named Bobby finished 11th and 17th.



1988-17 (DuQuoin): The Bob Era really began to take off with this race, as drivers named Bob or Bobby occupied 5 of the top 9 positions, including the top 3. They finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 9th.



1988-18 (Salem): Drivers named Bob or Bobby took all the top odd-numbered positions, finishing 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th. This was also the race where another "B" driver, Brad Smith, scored his best career finish of 12th. He finished 62 laps down and could have scored a top 10 had he completed 4 more laps.



In the final 1988 standings, drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 10th. Among that group, only 2nd-ranked Bob Keselowski won (though he won 5 times). But this was only the beginning of the Bob Era, which would see many more drivers named Bob or Bobby regularly leading the pack over the next few years.







1989 ARCA Results



In the 1989 ARCA series, 10 of 17 races were won by a driver named Bob, though those wins were split between 4 different drivers. 2 more races were won by Ben. Drivers whose names didn't start with a "B" didn't fare so well in 1989.



1989-03 (Kil-Kare): Bob beat Bob for the win, Bob beat Bobby for 6th, and Bob beat Bobby for 10th.



1989-05 (Flat Rock): Half of the top 8 finishers were drivers named Bob (2nd, 4th, 7th, and 8th).



1989-08 (Hagerstown): Bob beat Bob and Bobby.



1989-09 (Pocono): Greg kept us from having an all "B" top 7. The top 7 finishers, in order, were: Bob, Greg, Bob, Ben, Bob, Bobby, and Bobby.



1989-10 (Talladega): One Bob fell out with engine trouble while all the others finished between 3rd and 8th. The top 8 finishers, in order, were: Tracy, David, Bob, Bobby, Bobby, Ben, Bob, and Bob.



1989-11 (Delaware, ON), 1989-13 (Springfield), and 1989-14 (Toledo): Bob beat Bob for the win each time, but the other Bobs were farther behind in these three races.



1989-15 (DuQuoin): Bob beat Bob, Billy, and Bob.



1989-16 (Salem): Bob beat Bob and Bobby.



In the final 1989 standings, Bob (Keselowski) beat Bob Brevak for the championship. Other drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 4th, 8th, and 11th.







1990 ARCA Results



1990-01 (Daytona): 7 drivers named Bob or Bobby all finish between 9th and 22nd.



1990-05 (Flat Rock): Bobby won, followed by 4 drivers named Bob from 2nd-5th. Another Bobby finished 8th.



1990-06 (Pocono): Two drivers named Bob finish 5th and 6th, with two drivers named Bobby in 7th and 8th.



1990-07 (Kil-Kare): Bobby won, followed by 3 drivers named Bob from 2nd-4th.



1990-08 (Toledo): The top 5 drivers are all named Bob or Bobby.



1990-09 (Hagerstown): Winner Ken Schrader was followed by 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby, then there were 2 others in 12th and 13th.



1990-13 (Springfield): In addition to two Bobs and a Bobby in the top 7, there was also a Billy and a Brian. Two more Bobs finished 15th and 16th.



1990-15 (DuQuoin): Bob beat Billy and Bobby.



1990-16 (Winchester): The top 4 drivers are all named Bob or Bobby.



1990-17 (Delaware, ON): Don kept us from having an all "B" top 8. The top 8 finishers, in order, were: Bob, Bobby, Bob, Bill, Don, Bob, Brian, and Bob.



In the final 1990 standings, Bob Brevak beat Bob (Keselowski) and Bobby Bowsher for the championship. Other drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 5th, 8th, and 9th.







1991 ARCA Results



1991-05 (Toledo): Bobby beat Bob for the win, and Billy beat Bill for 5th.



1991-06 (Flat Rock): Bobby won, while drivers named Bob finished 2nd, 3rd, and 5th.



1991-09 (Kil-Kare): Bob beat Bobby and Bob for the win. Another Bobby finished 5th.



1991-10 (Flat Rock): Bob beat Bob and Bobby for the win. Another Bob finished 5th.



1991-11 (Delaware, ON): Half the drivers (5 out of 10) running at the finish were named Bob or Bobby. 90% of the drivers running at the finish had a first name beginning with either B or J.



1991-12 (Pocono): The top 12 finishers were Bob, Dave, Bob, Bobby, Bill, Bobby, Jerry, Bob, Ben, Mike, Mark, and Bob.



1991-17 (Toledo): The top 8 finishers were Bobby, Dave, Bob, Ed, Bob, Bob, Bob, and Bobby.



1991-20 (Atlanta): Though there were 8 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race, nearly all of them had a rough day. Only one Bob led laps (early on) and only one Bob out of eight finished in the top 12.



In the final 1991 standings, Bill Venturini won the championship, but he was followed by Bobby, Bob, Bob, Bobby, Bob, and Ben. Even more interesting is that every single driver who earned 8 or more top 10 finishes in the 1991 ARCA season had a first name starting with the letter "B"--those 7 drivers plus another Bob who ranked 11th. No one else had more than 6 top 10 finishes.







1992 ARCA Results



1992-01 (Daytona): This race featured 9 different drivers named Bob or Bobby, but none of them seriously contended for the win.



1992-03 (Texas World): 5 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished between 13th and 23rd.



1992-05 (Toledo): After a rough start to the season, the drivers named Bob finally started to get it together. Bob beat Bob and Bobby for the win in this race.



1992-07 (Pocono): This was another tough race for drivers named Bob or Bobby. There were 9 of them in this race, but only 1 finished in the top 10 and 5 of them finished outside the top 20.



1992-09 (Flat Rock): 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in the top 5 (2nd, 4th, and 5th).



1992-10 (Kil-Kare): One Bob won, but the other 5 drivers named Bob or Bobby all finished between 16th and 24th.



1992-15 (Flat Rock): Half of the top 8 finishers were named Bob or Bobby (2nd, 4th, 7th, and 8th).



1992-16 (Springfield): It was an all "B" top 5 as Bobby beat Ben, Bob, Bob, and Billy. There were a total of 9 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race; 4 finished in the top 10 but 4 others failed to finish.



1992-17 (Toledo): Bobby led Bob at both ends of the results from this race. Bobby beat Bob for the win, while a different Bobby and Bob occupied the final two spots (25th and 26th) in the same order.



1992-18 (DuQuoin): Half of the top 8 finishers were drivers named Bob or Bobby (1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th).



1992-19 (Texas World): All the Bobs were kept out of the top 10 in this ARCA/Winston West combination race. All 7 drivers named Bob in this race finished between 11th and 27th. Specifically, of note, Bob beat Bob and Bobby for 13th, Dave beat David for 14th, Rick beat Rick for 17th, Bob beat Bobby for 23rd, and Mark beat Mark for 34th.



1992-20 (Salem): Of the 8 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race, 3 of them dropped out within the first 4 laps and 2 others dropped out later in the race. Of the 3 Bobs running at the finish. 2 of them finished 1st and 2nd and the other finished 13th.



In the final 1992 standings, Bobby Bowsher beat Bob Keselowski for the championship. However, the Bobs weren't as dominant as they had been in past seasons. Other drivers named Bob or Bobby ended the season 8th, 10th, 11th, and 13th.







1993 ARCA Results



1993-01 (Daytona): There were 6 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race and, as far as I can tell, 4 of them were involved in the big 24-car crash on lap 3. No one named Bob or Bobby led any laps in this race and only 1 finished in the top 10.



1993-02 (Pensacola): All 5 of the drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race finished between 5th and 12th, and with one exception, they each finished exactly 1 lap apart.



1993-06 (Columbus): The number of ARCA drivers named Bob or Bobby was declining by 1993. This was one of the few remaining races where they performed fairly well: 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby finshed between 3rd and 13th.



1993-08 (Toledo): Bobby beat Bob for the win, but the 3 other drivers named Bob were not in contention.



1993-09 (Pocono): This race featured 7 drivers named Bob or Bobby, 4 of which finished among the top 9, and all in odd-numbered positions. (1st, 5th, 7th, and 9th).



1993-10 (Michigan): This race also featured 7 drivers named Bob or Bobby, but only 1 finished in the top 10. However, there were 3 in a row (13th-15th) and another Bob in 18th.



1993-11 (Flat Rock): 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in the top 6 (2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th).



1993-13 (Kil-Kare): Bobby started on the pole and led 30 laps before being passed by Bob, who went on to win the race. This time, all the drivers named Bob or Bobby were running at the finish (1st, 4th, 7th, 9th, and 15th).



1993-14 (Springfield): There were 8 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race. One of them won the race, another finished 1 lap down, another finished 2 laps down, and another finished 3 laps down. The other 4 either dropped out or were many laps down.



1993-17 (Salem): Drivers named Bob finished in nearly all of the odd-numbered positions towards the front (1st, 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 13th).



In the final 1993 standings, Tim Steele won the championship and was followed by Bob Keselowski and Bobby Bowsher. Other drivers named Bob finished 6th, 7th, and 11th.







1994 ARCA Results



1994-01 (Daytona): This race included 9 drivers named Bob or Bobby, 5 of which finished on the lead lap between 6th and 14th.



1994-05 (Kil-Kare): The drivers named Bob or Bobby were less dominant by this time, but they ran well in this race. They led most of the laps, but failed to win. Bobby beat Bob and Bob for 2nd, and another Bob finished 10th.



1994-08 (Michigan): The 6 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race all encountered trouble and either failed to finish or finished many laps down. The highest-finishing Bob ended the race 17th, 6 laps down.



1994-10 (Pocono): 5 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished on the lead lap, including 4 in the top 10 (3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th).



1994-11 (Pocono): 2 days after the previous race, which had been postponed for a month due to rain, drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 4th, 5th, and 7th.



1994-15 (I-70): Only 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby were in this race, but they all finished together. Bob, Bob, and Bobby finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.



1994-16 (Springfield): Once again, there were only 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby, but they put on an awesome battle for the win! Bob Keseslowski led half the race, but ran out of gas with 2 laps to go, allowing Bob Hill to beat Bobby Bowsher by 3 carlengths for the win.



1994-17 (DuQuoin): The 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race combined to lead nearly all the laps, each one leading between 29 and 42 laps. But each encountered some type of trouble along the way and failed to win.



1994-18 (Toledo): All 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in the top 10.



1994-19 (Winchester): All 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in a row from 3rd through 6th. However, none of them led a lap as another driver dominated the race.



1994-21 (Atlanta): This season ended on a low note for drivers named Bob or Bobby. There were 4 of them in this race, and all 4 failed to finish.



In the final 1994 standings, Bobby Bowsher won the championship while Bob Keselowski ended the season 4th in points. Part-time drivers Bob Strait and Bob Schacht ranked 10th and 14th, respectively.







1995 ARCA Results



1995-03 (Talladega): There were 5 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race. One was involved in the big crash, but the other 4 all finished close together, between 7th and 12th.



1995-04 (Pensacola): This race effectively concluded the Bob Era. Bob beat Bob and Bobby for the win. The three of them led nearly all the laps and were the only 3 drivers to finish on the lead lap. This would be the last time during this era that drivers named Bob or Bobby finished 1-2-3.



1995-21 (Atlanta): 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished between 4th and 13th (4th, 10th, 11th, and 13th).



In the final 1995 standings, Andy Hillenburg won a close championship battle but was followed by 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby: Bobby Bowsher, Bob Schacht, and Bob Hill. However, as evidenced by the fact that I included recaps of only three races from 1995, the days where multiple drivers named Bob or Bobby all finished together near the front of the field were coming to an end.







1996 ARCA Results



1996-11 (Pocono): 3 drivers named Bob or Bobby finished in the top 9 (5th, 6th, and 9th).



1996-12 (Michigan): There were 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race, but only 1 finished. The other 3 all dropped out with mechanical issues within the first third of the race.



1996-16 (Michigan): The second Michigan race was similar to the first for drivers named Bob or Bobby, as this era came to an end. There were 4 drivers named Bob or Bobby in this race, but only 1 finished. The other 3 all dropped out with mechanical issues within the first 20 laps of the race.



In the final 1996 standings, Bobby Bowsher finished 2nd in points, well behind champion Tim Steele. No other drivers named Bob or Bobby were in the top 10 as the ARCA Bob Era had come to an end.







Thanks to rm, who first drew my attention to this in the comments for this race! Opinions expressed in blogs are those of the individual bloggers and do not necessarily represent the views of racing-reference.info.