Jamie Dietzler was always around the race track as a kid as his dad was a racer, but it wasn’t until his mid 30s when he decided to buy his first race car.
“I always had the passion there,” Dietzler said. “It got to the point where I’d better do it now before I got too terribly old.”
So at the age of 35, he decided to buy his first car — a midwest modified.
Now in his fifth year behind the wheel of the #39 Wissota Midwest Modified, the Larimore, N.D., resident has settled in as a solid competitor locally. He competes at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks and Devils Lake Speedway near Crazy, N.D. He also raced a handful of times at Norman County Raceway in Ada in 2019.
He has two career wins in the midwest modified division.
His first career win came on June 2, 2017 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. That night, he wasn’t feeling well and they were running a backup motor — but also drew the pole that night. He wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.
“We gave it everything it had,” Dietzler said. “I held it to the floor for 18 laps and ended up winning. It had enough in it to make it happen.”
Dietzler, who works as an electrician, got his second career win on June 12, although it came in a more unusual way. Dietzler crossed the line second at River Cities Speedway but the winner was disqualified in post-race tech inspection, giving him the victory.
With that win, he has three top five finishes in six starts in 2020.
“(We) changed up a lot of stuff this year and the car has responded well,” Dietzler said.
He is one of the few drivers in Wissota who drives a Harris Chassis, which has traditionally been run by IMCA modified drivers.
“This is my third Harris (Chassis) now,” Dietzler said. “It takes a little fine tuning to get it to work on the Wissota B mod rules. I enjoy having something a little bit different than most people.”
He had a solid year in 2019 with eight top five finishes. His goal for 2020 is to aim for more top five finishes.
Now in his fifth season, Dietzler enjoys the environment at the track.
“It’s a little bit of the competition and the camaraderie with other drivers,” Dietzler said. “There’s quite a few good people around this that makes it a pretty good time.”
Driver Profile
Jamie Dietzler
Wissota Midwest Modified #39
Hometown: Larimore, N.D.
Age: 41
Sponsors: Forest River Farmers Elevator, MAK Construction, Dietzler Honey, Custom Stripes, Harris Auto Racing, Dietzler Electric, Grand Forks Heating, Victory Diesel, Bruns Racing Products, All Seasons Oil - Amsoil
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