When Jordan Koehler made his fourth visit to Volusia Speedway Park for Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, his primary goal was simple: win a little Gator trophy.
To do so, the 24-year-old had to compete against 100 of the best DIRTcar UMP Modifieds in the country around the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” So, how did he fare?
Koehler not only accomplished his goal, he exceeded it with three little Gator trophies, a Big Gator trophy for winning Saturday’s Gator Championship Feature, and the prestigious Big Gator Championship trophy.
Those accomplishments looked far out of reach at the start of his DIRTcar Nationals run, though. During Week 1, he had results of 16th, DNF, and 18th. But when the hunt for the Big Gator title officially began during Week 2, Koehler found another gear. He earned a fourth-place finish and then rattled off four straight victories.
“Man, it’s awesome,” Koehler said. “We probably didn’t think I was going to get it done there, but the guys never gave up on me. I’m definitely one to get down pretty easy when I get into my own head. My guys, I can’t thank them enough. They give me the best race car.”
To win the Gator Championship Feature, Koehler had to hold off the likes of 2023 Modified Big Gator champion Kyle Stricker and teammate and 2025 Late Model Big Gator champion Ricky Thornton Jr.
Koehler started from the pole and held the lead over Kyle Strickler and Ricky Thornton Jr. while experimenting with different lanes around the 1/2-mile oval in the early stages.
Thornton kept the pressure on his younger Koehler Motorsports teammate by arcing his No. 20RT to the bottom and sliding to the top at the exit of each corner. While it helped Thornton keep a half-second distance through the first half of the 30 laps, it had a negative effect in the final circuits as Koehler sped away to a 2.7-second lead by driving through the middle lane towards the checkered flag.
“I just found that line that I really liked that I’ve been running all week,” Koehler said. “I steered away from it the first couple laps, but when I could hit it, it was choppy in (Turns 1-2), and I could skate across, go to the bottom, and get a really good run.”
Koehler’s work isn’t done as he kept his DIRTcar Nationals run going during Week 3 with the Super Late Models – on track to compete in every day of DIRTcar Nationals, along with this Koehler Motorsports teammates Thornton and brother Evan Koehler.
“I kind of take it with a grain of salt,” Koehler said. “I love racing, but I love coming out here with my family to race. That’s more fun to me than anything. We’ve been able to do really good and win races while we’re here. Heck, we were going to be happy if we won one little gator. But that just shows how good this Koehler Motorsports team is. We’ve got a kick ass team.”
You can see Jordan Koehler race at Volusia Speedway Park for the remainder of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals with the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14.
How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.
