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Koehler surprises Volusia faithful in taking home the victory & Big Gator championship

By Matt Skipper

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 7) - Entering the 55th DIRTcar Nationals, Jordan Koehler’s goal was to leave Volusia Speedway Park with a first career trip to the track’s victory lane.

Leaving Saturday night’s Gator Championship feature, the Mt. Airy, NC, racer completed the task with the $5,000 winner’s check, the Big Gator points title, and three little gators collected throughout the week.

Koehler rolled from pole as multi-time Big Gator champ Kyle Strickler started to his outside. At the drop of the initial green flag, Strickler took the lead as Koehler moved his car to the cushion.

In the middle of turn three, Koehler spun across the track and stopped at the turn four pit entrance without a scratch. Though the first caution was thrown, Koehler retained his position for the restart, as the lap was not officially completed, resetting the field to its original positions.

Multiple cautions affected multiple contenders in the Big Gator title, including Trevor Neville spinning on lap two and a multi-car pileup involving Will Krup, David Stremme and Ray Kable. At the front, the 24-year-old driver held the lead over Strickler while third-place Ricky Thornton, Jr. mounted a charge toward the leaders.

Thornton passed Strickler on lap 11 by using the top side of the half-mile, while Strickler was using the bottom. When the yellow flag waved for the final time on lap 16, Koehler drove through the middle lane as Thornton took to the bottom and reached Koehler’s door. However, Koehler’s turn two exit helped him speed away from the No. 20RT.

The Chandler, AZ native did not relent in his pressure toward his Koehler Motorsports teammate as he shifted to arcing his car to the bottom and reaching the cushion by the corner exit. While it kept him within a one-second gap of the lead, Koehler widened the distance to 2.5 seconds with four laps remaining.

As Koehler crossed the twin checkered flags to claim his first career Gator Championship victory and Big Gator championship, he capped a dominant nine days for the team that included triumphs from Koehler, Thornton, and little brother Evan Koehler.

“Probably, just me getting in my own head,” Koehler said regarding the lap one accident. “Ricky slid me, and it was so slimy at the top that I just got into it. It happens, probably getting into my own head more than anything, that’s about it. Luckily, it worked out for us, and I’m tickled, man. I probably won’t even be able to go to bed tonight.”

SUMMARY

UMP Modifieds:

Gator Championship (30 Laps): 1. 114-Jordan Koehler[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 3. 72H-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 4. 99K-Ray Kable[25]; 5. 5CS-Curt Spalding[26]; 6. 7D-Brad DeYoung[16]; 7. 8S-Kyle Strickler[2]; 8. 71-Pierce McCarter[28]; 9. 45H-Kyle Hammer[21]; 10. 7J-Justin Allgaier[20]; 11. 17-Chris Wilson[13]; 12. 36-Kenny Wallace[19]; 13. 01-Aidan Hinds[24]; 14. 66F-Cole Falloway[10]; 15. 24-Zeke McKenzie[11]; 16. 77B-Ray Bollinger[30]; 17. 15X-Justin Stone[15]; 18. 1H-Ben Harmon[22]; 19. 10Y-Trent Young[18]; 20. 97-Mitch Thomas[6]; 21. 25-Tyler Nicely[9]; 22. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski[8]; 23. 13-Charlie Mefford[7]; 24. 09-Michael Ledford[27]; 25. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 26. K9-Will Krup[3]; 27. 35-David Stremme[14]; 28. 96M-Mike McKinney[12]; 29. 1TS-Tyler Spalding[17]; 30. 27-Jason Garver[29]