Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: ‘Mental game’ challenge for Minnesota rookie
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Dexton Koch (highsideraceshots.com)
When you’re accustomed to winning more than 20 dirt track races annually, resetting expectations is a crucial part of stepping up to the Late Model division.
Dexton Koch of Becker, Minn., is learning that firsthand as a rookie in the WISSOTA racing organization’s top tier.
“The mental game in this class is just huge,” said the 30-year-old Koch, WISSOTA’s 2024 super stock champion who earned more than 100 victories over the last four seasons. “I mean, you go from that super stock where you're winning two or three times a weekend, and you get into this Late Model and everybody's fast in them. There's such a small window with whether your car is good. If you're off just a little bit, you go from being a top-three car to a 15th-place car if you're off just a smidge.”
Koch (pronounced like “cook”) has yet to capture his first Late Model victory, but he’s made gains with a pair of third-place finishes as WISSOTA’s top first-year driver in early season points. He plans more than 50 Late Model starts this season among three-race weekends and frequent Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series starts.
Fighting through gearing ratio mistakes and battery malfunctions, the season’s start has “been rough, but it's definitely made us better,” Koch said. “We kind of started with our backs against the wall, but nothing we can't fight back from.”
Koch is gaining experience as he goes, “not really having a notebook to start out like some of these guys have around here,” he said. “I mean, I'm used to racing a lot of these guys in the super stock class and other classes, and kind of race them weekly, and they kinda got a little bit thicker notebook to start with.”
Koch does have plenty of experience behind the wheel. He grew up with his father taking him to Golden Spike Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minn. (now Granite City Motor Park), then climbed into a street stock to compete as a 16-year-old. He quickly moved into the super stock division — which has similar bodies to Late Models but smaller engine and tires — where he became a title contender. He was twice WISSOTA’s super stock points runner-up in 2022-23 while winning 48 races combined, then captured 2024’s WISSOTA title with a 28-victory season. He added 24 victories last year while in midseason adding a Late Model to the team’s stable, running a handful of events while plotting his divisional move for 2026.
Piloting a car for James Trantina III — the owner of the Granite City oval, two other Minnesota dirt tracks and the multi-car Triple B Motorsports team — Koch is aiming for a top-five finish in overall WISSOTA points while gunning for rookie titles in WISSOTA weekly action and the touring series.
Koch is grateful for Trantina, who he’s become friends with after contentious fender-banging battles years ago.
“We used to kind of butt heads when he first got into racing — he'll kind of tell you that too a little bit — and it's just kind of weird how things work out,” Koch said. "I've been very blessed to have the opportunity to race for him.
"I don't know if there's anybody else out there as passionate as he is about racing and supporting racers, and doing what he can to try and promote the sport. He loves it.”
Trantina also operates the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series team for Lake Shore, Minn., driver Dan Ebert, who is easing Koch’s division transition as they work out of the team’s St. Joseph, Minn., shop.
“Dan has definitely been a huge help for me,” Koch said.
Among other crew members, Koch’s wife Amanda is also hands-on, happy to be part of the team during race-busy summers provided the couple can slip away for a winter vacation to Cancun.
"I would say she's probably almost more competitive than I am when it comes to racing,” Koch said, “and she spends a lot of time out here in the shop also helping us.”
Koch, whose work flexibility as a diesel mechanic allows for a busy racing schedule, led his first Late Model feature May 15 at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn., before settling for a third-place finish behind Shane Sabraski, winner of more than 1,000 multidivision WISSOTA events, and three-time WISSOTA Late Model champion Tyler Peterson.
“We started third in it, took the lead on the first lap, and I think I led it for probably, almost eight or nine laps,” Koch recalled. “And we had a caution about halfway through, and then it was Shane and (Peterson) lined up behind me on the restart. They both ended up getting around me, but I was able to keep up with those guys, so I was pretty happy with that run, being on the podium with those guys. They've got a few wins in the Late Models.”
A victory is likely coming for Koch, but perhaps not as frequently as during his full-time seasons in super stocks, which he’ll still run occasionally. For now, Late Model racing comes with significantly more losses than wins.
“I would say just mentally, it's hard to adjust to that. I’m just kinda remaining focused and sticking to the goals that we have in mind,” Koch said. “It's definitely helping run the super stock to kinda keep my confidence up a little bit. But just trying to push through it every night when you're having a rough night or if things aren't going your way, and it's a competitive class.”
Costs are also higher — perhaps twice as much for drivers like Koch who run a spec-engine combo instead of the lower-cost CT 525 powerplant — but the division has had an influx of talented younger drivers in recent seasons, including touring standouts Peterson and Cole Searing, along with last season’s top rookie Devin Fouquette.
"I would say it's pretty competitive, if not just as competitive as it was probably five or 10 years ago,” Koch said. "The class is pretty healthy right now up here on an average night we probably see 15 to 20 Late Models at most of our local tracks, which is a pretty good field of cars for how the economy is and everything.”
Koch’s super stock legacy, including what he calls his “dream season” of 2024, is in the rear-view mirror, but he’s eager to make new memories.
“There's been a lot of good years these last five or six seasons that we've put together, you know, 20-plus wins and everything,” he said. “I’m just kind of blessed to have this whole opportunity to jump in a Late Model for Triple B Motorsports.”
Weekly highlights
• With his May 24 victory at East Moline (Ill.) Speedway, Travis Denning of Sterling, Ill., is 3-for-3 in 2026 Late Model feature starts at the quarter-mile oval.
• Scoring a two-victory weekend May 23-24, Chad Becker of Aberdeen, S.D., won at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, S.D. and Casino Speedway in Watertown, S.D. It marked his first Huron-Casino double in nine seasons.
• Hometown driver Johnny Broking captured May 21’s season opener at Grand Rapids (Minn.) Speedway, taking the checkers ahead of 16th-starting Kyle Peterlin.
• Sweeping May 23-24 action, Randy Barley of Albany, Ore., raced to a pair of Late Model victories at Cottage Grove (Ore.) Speedway.
• Tommy Elston of Keokuk, Iowa, won May 23’s IMCA Late Model feature at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, outrunning 14th-starter Blaise Lewis, second in his first division start.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• With a last-lap pass, Cody Lear of Manchester, Md., won May 22’s Limited Late Model feature for his first triumph at Clinton County Speedway in Mill Hall, Pa.
Weekly news briefs
• Baton Rouge Raceway in Baker, La., has amended its lineup procedures, including fans in the action. At intermission, a chosen fan will role a die to set the lineup inversion from 1-6. Baton Rouge also announced that Dylan Eliser has been hired as play-by-play announcer.
• Former Dirt Late Model racer and NASCAR driver Mike Wallace is among the Class of 2026 for the St. Louis Dirt Track Racing Hall of Fame. The complete class hasn’t been announced but the induction ceremony is Nov. 1.
• Multitime River Cities Speedway champion Dustin Strand of Grand Forks, N.D., announced he’s teaming up with car owners Jason and Christa Strand to pilot AK Race Cars powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engines in 2026.
• May 22’s Shawn “Sheetz” McGarvey Memorial at Hidden Valley Speedway in Clearfield, Pa., was rained out and rescheduled for June 19. The Super Late Model event pays $3,000-to-win.
• Pine Ridge Speedway in Guntown, Miss., has a $4,000-to-win Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series event June 6 and has added an unsanctioned $2,500-to-win Super Late Model event for June 5, the Pat Carr Tribute. Both nights have 602 Crate Late Models on the card.
• After several Super Late Model rainouts, Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park has added a non-points event to May 29’s race program, the Eric Phillips 38th Anniversary Classic.
• The Fast Threads Gen X Late Model champion and Rookie of the Year will receive four AFCO Shock rebuilds (a $400 value), courtesy 18 Innovations of Watertown, S.D. The division also added a Daytona1-sponsored best lap award for the year’s quickest lap time in a feature.
Weekly points
DIRTcar (Supers): Todd Brennan of Zanesville, Ohio, has 493 points to lead Mike Spatola (475) and Hudson O’Neal (470).
IMCA (Limiteds): Curtis Glover of Knoxville, Iowa, has 475 points to lead Tommy Elston (367) and Jordan Krug (358).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Shane Sabraski of Rice, Minn., has 368 points to lead Tyler Peterson (338) and rookie Dexton Koch (275).
American All-Stars (Crates): Logan Walls of Junction City, Ky., has 486 points to lead Dalton Brown (272) and Tyler Hoy (230).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Covy Parsons of Iuka, Miss., has 425 points to lead Allen Edwards (412) and Joey Tucker (406).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Christopher Reid of Wiggins, Miss., has 464 points to lead Shannon Lee (411) and Ben Davis (366).
DIRTcar (Crates): Braden Johnson of Taylorville, Ill., has 324 points to lead Chase Wilson (304) and Hudson Dick (275).
RUSH (Crates): Davin Kaiser of Winchester, Va., has 914 points to lead fellow Winchester racer Devin Brannon (757) and Kolbe Kimbrew (525).
Ultimate (Crates): Brandon Adkins of Jumping Branch, W.Va., has 136 points to lead T.J. Salango (116) and Henry Hornsby III (105).
USRA (Crates): Cooper Sundby of Menomonie, Wis., has 1,046 points to lead Josh Wahlstrom (1,018) and Jason McFadden (998).
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway (May 30): Super Late Models chase a $5,000 purse with Limited Late Models and two sprint car divisions on the card.
Peoria (Ill.) Speedway (May 30): Returning to action after a few weeks off, Crate Late Models top a five-division program with a $1,500-to-win feature event.
Tyler County Speedway, Middlebourne, W.Va. (May 30): Adjusting purses after multiple rainouts, the track’s Super Late Models will chase a $2,000-to-win purse the final weekend in May.
Antioch (Calif.) Speedway (May 30): The Larry Damitz Memorial honors the longtime California racer with Late Models on the five-division program. It’s Youth Baseball, Softball and Soccer Night (children 12-and-under free wearing a team uniform).
Beckley (W.Va.) Motor Speedway (May 30): Crate Late Models compete in twin 20-lappers to highlight an eight-division program.
Cottonwood Speedway, Dothan, Ala. (May 30): The rain-postponed Jackie Hughes Tribute includes a $1,222-to-win feature for 602 Crate Late Models with purse boosts from Wagner Air Conditioning.
Eriez Speedway, Hammett, Pa. (May 31): The rain-postponed Andy Kania Memorial pays $7,676 for the Super Late Model winner with lap money and bonuses up for grabs.
