In the past three seasons, no one has been better in the Chevrolet Performance 75 at Super DIRT Week than Zach Sobotka.
Since winning in 2021, the Parish, NY driver has earned back-to-back third-place finishes in the DIRTcar Sportsman Feature at Oswego Speedway.
And despite falling short the last two years, Sobotka said he’s confident another Super DIRT Week victory is coming.
“I go into every race planning on winning it,” Sobotka said. “That’s me and all my guys that help me. We’re going to every race thinking we’re going to win. I would’ve liked to see what would’ve happened last year, but we always seem to have a pretty good car at Oswego, and something’s come up the past couple of years, and we couldn’t win it.”
With only one stop at Oswego each season, the track is a neutral ground for all DIRTcar Sportsman drivers. But for Sobotka, it’s a track he’s excited about each year since he’s found a setup he likes.
“It’s not close to any other track we get to run on,” Sobotka said. “I feel like we got lucky and hit on something a couple of years ago, and every year since, we’ve been going the same way. It’s definitely pretty fun to drive around that track. You can’t really experience it at any other track.”
While Sobotka knows the formula for success in the Chevy Performance 75, all DIRTcar Sportsman drivers will face a challenge before the Feature.
With a division that’s boasted 100-plus cars entered at Super DIRT Week in the past, Qualifying becomes a vital step toward winning.
“It’s definitely hard,” Sobotka said. “Sometimes [Qualifying] helps out a lot because you make your own bed in them. It’s definitely pretty hard. We don’t normally race against 100-plus cars every weekend, especially against a bunch of cars you don’t get to race against. You don’t really know what they do on the track.
“The main challenge is Qualifying. And if you get lucky in Qualifying, anything can happen in the Feature.”
As Sobotka prepares for Super DIRT Week 52, there’s another feat he’s aiming for in 2024.
He’s searching for his first DIRTcar Sportsman Series championship after finishing second the last three years.
Super DIRT Week is just one stop on the road to the championship, which begins on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
“We’ve finished second three years in a row now,” Sobotka said. “It’s all to different people. It’s looking like we’re in the best shape we’ve been in the championship Series so far. We have good confidence going into Glen Ridge, Sunday, so I hope it pays off.”
The DIRTcar Sportsman Series stops at Oswego Speedway during Super DIRT Week 52, with the Chevrolet Performance 75 on Saturday, Oct. 12. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action at Super DIRT Week on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
