 In 1937 he purchased Norm Batten's Miller Fengler/Junior 8 from Batten's widow.He installed a 122 Miller engine from Harry Hartz's Indy winner and with several modifications included bigger brakes and a better oiling system Kohlert entered the car with Chicago dirt track racer Dennis 'Duke' Nalon at the wheel.The car placed 11th in 1938 and Kohlert came back to qualify with Nalon and the car in 1939 but a broken camshaft ended the run before the car could qualify.