Bobby Cottrell understood that in just six short seasons, he’d experienced more success than a dozen average drivers could have combined. He’d won six consecutive NHRA Heritage Series titles, including an undefeated season last year. 

There was no reason to believe 2024 would bring more of the same, considering he’d amassed a 114-point lead heading into the final stretch of the NHRA Heritage Series season. Then, inexplicably, he lost his ride in August.

Disappointed, Cottrell, figuring he’d had a heck of a run, looked back on his accomplishments and accepted that maybe it was all over.   

It was this way until it wasn’t.

“I didn’t think any of this was going to happen, but it did,” Cottrell said. “I missed a couple of races, and Jim Broome gave me the opportunity to come out and drive his hot rod.”

“So I knew then I had a shot, and that’s all I needed is a shot. We worked hard and we got it done. I’m really proud of these guys. I’m super happy. Talk about an old Cub Scout comeback.”

Cottrell drove Jim Broome’s Speed Sport Camaro to the seventh quickest run in qualifying, and drove to victories over Jerry Espeseth, Drew Austin, and Mike Peck to reach the final round. It was the victory over Peck that proved costly, as he went through the lights the Funny Car went up in flames. The team returned to the pits where a league of crewmen from other teams were standing by ready to help.

Ultimately, the damage was too much and the team threw in the towel. 

But for Cottrell, that part was unfortunate but not the end of the world. He’d clinched title No. 7, arguably his toughest of them all. 

“To be so far back and then come back, not even having a ride before this deal, it was very emotional,” Cottrell explained. “I’m just really, really happy. Excuse my language.”

Cottrell is a competitor, and he knew if he gained the chance, he’d push the limits. He clearly had something to prove. 

“Obviously, if you ever separate from your teams, you want to come back and do just as good as you did before you left,” Cottrell said. “But it’s all about the combinations in these cars. If the combination’s a little bit off or whatever, the car just won’t run. But my plan was no matter how the car ran, which it’s running outstanding, I was going to show up and try to cut the tree down every single time, and that’s what I’ve been doing. So it’s worked out.”

Cottrell has learned a lot about himself in those six championships seasons, but those lessons pale to what he gleaned from the last two months. 

“Don’t ever give up,” Cottrell said of his most profound lesson. “Honestly, after everything that happened, I felt like my luck was down, my confidence was low, and stuff like that, but after the first burnout in this car this weekend, it all came back. I’ll never give up.”