Proof of Bobby‘s ability came as the wins began piling up. There was no room for haste. His progression up the racing food chain would be steady and purposeful. The elder East thought it was important for his son to race on dirt and pavement, and on a wide variety of tracks. Soon it was clear that the internship was over, and the time had come to sign in with the USAC national midget series.
On July 11, 2001, Bobby passed Tracy Hines and Kasey Kahne at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind., to become the youngest winner of a USAC national event. When the season concluded he was an easy choice for rookie-of-the-year honors. Bob East did not realize it at the time, but his son‘s success would cause him minor headaches along the way.
As Bobby excelled, drivers in the Lewis camp complained he was receiving extra attention from his father. The problem with that theory is that Bobby was the one who worked on the car. He was savvy inside and outside the cockpit. A perfect example came at the imposing Phoenix Raceway. Dave Darland had taken a team midget to practice on the fast one-mile oval but could not find speed. Bobby hopped in the car and quickly reported the gears were upside down. He was only 16 years old.
Shortly thereafter Dan Davis who led the motorsports operations for Ford Motor Co. suggested it was time to put Bobby in the famed Lewis “9” car.
Bob East pushed back, but it was clear that young East possessed the talent to become a champion. When the time was right, Bobby East moved center stage on the team. Despite unrelenting scrutiny, he proved equal to the task. In 2004, he captured the USAC national midget championship winning seven races, including the Belleville Midget Nationals, the Hut Hundred and the Turkey Night Grand Prix.
With the help of Ford, Bobby East dipped his toe in the NASCAR water in 2005. In 2006, he ran a robust slate of dates in the Truck Series with Wood Brothers Racing. He competed in 23 of the 25 races. The following year he devoted attention to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, taking the green flag 10 times for owner Clarence Brewer. Disappointment soon settled in. His parents strongly felt that in his early days the teams were more interested in the support Ford was offering, than they were in developing a young driver. It was complicated.
The Easts acknowledge Bobby may have lacked all the extra skills necessary in NASCAR racing. “He wasn‘t a schmoozer,” Bob East said. “He didn‘t like going to autograph sessions or sponsor meetings. He was just in the wrong era.”
As well, East was used to winning and accepting anything less was difficult.
“It was hard on him,” Bob East said. “When you have a goal and you think you are going to make it to the top and you don‘t, it is hard. You have to be with the right people and timing is everything.”
If there was a ray of hope it came when he returned to the Truck Series with team owner Jack Roush. In seven races, he scored a pole at Indianapolis Raceway Park, started in the top five on three occasions and nailed down two top-10 finishes.
Not neglecting his short-track roots, East won the Night Before the 500 midget race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Hhe still knew how to win. Bobby East then won both the midget and Silver Crown features during the November Copper World Classic at Phoenix Raceway. Joining him on the victory stage was Roush, who proclaimed East to be his guy. It sounded great but in the end the relationship was over. East‘s NASCAR dreams had died on the vine.
Shortly thereafter, Bob and Janice recognized some troubling changes in their son‘s attitude. At first Bob attributed much of it to the entire NASCAR experience. In retrospect his mother feels there were signs of depression by the time Bobby reached his 20s. He had trouble sleeping and drinking and the use of pain pills became a problem.
When the depth of his issues became clear the possibility that he was self-medicating was also considered. However, when it came to racing, he could still put it all together. Over the next three years, Bobby scored wins in all three USAC national series driving for longtime family associate Terry Klatt.
Then he got a real break. He had already proven that he could win in the big Silver Crown cars and when he joined forces with Tony Stewart Racing it was a perfect marriage. Taking advantage of his opportunity, he won the series title in 2012 and again in ‘13.
While it was difficult to come to terms with, at the time Bob East began to understand that something was very wrong.
“I could just tell,” East said. “He was a happy kid, and then suddenly winning did not seem to matter. When you win both ends of the Copper World you should be on top of the world and he was like, ‘Oh well, that‘s nice.‘”