RPW Exclusive: A Monumental Win for Kolby Schroder, Mr DIRT Track USA 2025

Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY  – Kolby Schroder, 2025 Mr DIRT Track USA, one the biggest wins of his yet young career.

If there’s a driver that has continued to learn and gain momentum over the last 10 years at Lebanon Valley Speedway, it would be Kolby Schroder. Schroder has been in the big block modifieds full-time since 2012, and knows how prestigious Mr DIRT Track USA is to those on the Super DIRTcar Series and Lebanon Valley regulars.

“It’s the biggest phase here at Lebanon for the big blocks. You know, we’ve been wanting to win this race for a long time. We’ve been in the hunt and just had some bad luck in the past, but things just kind of fell our way tonight,” Schroder explains, “We were fast right from the get go, and the car never really fell off. I was nervous that we were so good early that it was going to fade, but it kind of just stayed the same the whole race and it was good.”

Schroder has known he’s had a strong modified for Mr DIRT Track USA in the past, with multiple top 5 runs, it was special to get it done, and beat out the heavy favorite of Andy Bachetti.

“We’ve been close a few times. Just haven’t had things go our way to be in contention at the end in the past. So Andy’s super tough here, and we just nailed it,” an exhilarated Schroder says, “I mean, the thing was right on and we got to the front early and just kind of took care of my stuff, kept the car straight and rolling.” 

Schroder knew with the best in the business in town, he had to make his moves quickly to get up front and in control of the race.

“I knew I had to get in front of Andy before lap 50. He’s the one to beat. I mean, he’s just phenomenal here, even the series guys, I mean, but I  just had to get to him” Schroder explains.

Schroder knew from being a Saturday night regular at Lebanon Valley and having such strong cars in the past, it was about pacing himself and setting himself up for the end.

“I think it was third, and I was just trying to pace myself when opportunities came up, I’d take advantage, but trying to take care of the car and not using my tires and brakes and stuff like that. And then once I got the clean air, the car was even better, so I just kept it rolling and what a race,” Schroder says.

As Saturday night regular, and currently sitting 2nd in the championship points, 30 points behind Andy Bachetti. Schroder knew he had a slight advantage over the Super DIRTcar Series drivers.

“It comes into play with restarts and just kind of knowing where to be and reading the track as it changes. I was kind of rolling the top hard for a while, and then I started like arching down off and I kind of see little grip strips in the track and the series guys sometimes don’t know how to read this track and how to conserve your brakes and stuff like that. That’s a big thing,” a proud Schroder explains.

Schroder says he had a slight concern of late race restarts, but he was confident in his car to help get the job done.

“I knew as long as I could get a decent start and Marc(Johnson) wasn’t going to rough me up or anything like that to get the lead. So I was kind of confident, but you just never know,” Schroder explains, “I could tell the track changed a little bit, your car could go away and tire could steal over, but, you know, it just wasn’t going to be what it was going to be. And once I got the thing up and rolling, we were pretty good.”

With the prestigious win for Schroder, he is now given a guaranteed starter provisional for Super DIRT Week at Oswego. Schroder says him and his team will have to see where things fall as the schedule gets closer to Oswego.

“Possibly. I would love to. We got to see how the financials are and stuff like that. and I already have a little bit of a commitment to help somebody up there, so just, we’ll see. I’ll talk to my sponsors, see what we can put together. I’d love to,” Schroder says.

Schroder now heads into the final regular points night at Lebanon Valley Speedway, trailing 30 points behind Bachetti. The confidence and momentum are on his side.

“It’s just momentum, you know, I mean, Andy’s pretty far checked out, that wreck we had earlier on this year kind of set us back. But we’ve been fast every week, so we’ll just do our normal thing, come back and finish it off and try to lock down second in points,” Schroder explains, “maybe we’ll have a little luck and  have a slight chance.