Sportsman modified driver Dakota Kohler last won in 2020. He finally returned to victory lane this past Saturday at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. Kohler credited his chassis builder Hig Fab Chassis for his success.
The last time Kohler won he ran torsion-bar car with a Chevrolet Performance 604 engine. The division has since switched to the Chevrolet Performance 602 power plant. Last year he bought a coil car from Hig Fab Chassis.
“The Hig Fab car is the first coil car I drove,” Kohler, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania, said. “I felt that with the division requiring a 602 crate, a chassis with more flexibility would be a big advantage.”
Jerry Higbie, of Hig Fab Chassis, explained his chassis-building methodology.
“Our frames are built a little different from the rear forward,” said Higbie. “The front of our cars moves a little more. I built a frame where the front [of the frame] comes together to a point—2-¾″ narrower than others on each side—for a total of 5-½″ narrower. This leaves more room on each side for movement. The smaller engine racers like our cars because they turn effortlessly.”
On the right-front side of the frame, the Hig Fab chassis is kicked up 1-½″ after the 2″x4″ frame rail, and again another 1-½″ before the front crossmember. The chassis has a flex joint on the right front that permits some movement.
“The relief flex joint is like a socket that allows the frame to move without breaking,” Higbie said. “Because coil cars make the right front stick to the ground, the frame can break apart. The relief flex joint keeps the frame from breaking.”
Kohler didn’t have a chance to race his first Hig Fab chassis much as it got wrecked early in the 2023 season. He then bought another one and was so happy with it that he bought a third this season, but with a slight change.
“Dakota’s third chassis has the right front kicked up 3″ to allow the right-front corner of the frame to travel further without digging into the ground,” said Higbie.
The third chassis was the charm for Dakota Kohler.
“The newest Hig Fab coil chassis has a whole different feel than the [torsion-bar] chassis,” Kohler said. “They drive similar, but the Hig Fab [chassis] turns a lot easier, which is important when running with a 602 crate.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
