Dittmer aiming to battle ‘in the pack more’ in IMCA Stock Car ranks

Being a contender in the IMCA Stock Car division at local tracks isn’t easy, with so many drivers capable of winning a feature. Wil Dittmer of Casselton has seen this first hand since joining the class in 2023.

He has recorded one top five in the class since jumping into it. And while it’s every driver’s goal to get a feature win – his goal is simply to run with the pack more.

“Now it’s get up there and mix it up with those guys as much as I can,” Dittmer said. “Competitively my thing is to get into the pack more.  I’m used to running at the back of the pack, and now it’s get up there and mix it up.”

Dittmer’s interest in racing started growing up -- “I grew up farming and we went racing on the weekends,” he said – but eventually getting behind the wheel came after he started wrenching for Rob VanMil, who is one of the top runners in the Red River Valley.

“That how I got my start in it,” Dittmer said.

And he decided to take a big bite out of the apple with the class he started in – the stock cars.

“I should have jumped into a hobby stock right away, but you’ve got to start somewhere,” Dittmer said.

His first year saw his only top five finish at Norman County Raceway in Ada. He did manage eight top 10s on the season. In 2024 he had seven top 10s in 21 starts. He did finish in the top 10 in 12 of 24 starts in 2025, and finished a season-best sixth twice.

“My first year I didn’t l know what the heck I was doing,” Dittmer admitted. “When it came to driving, I was a bit out of my element. I’d like to think in my second year I started getting the hang of it.  Keep progressing – log as many laps as you can. Everybody wants to win their first night out; my (goal) is to keep progressing – finish on the lead lap, run all the laps, and finish in the top 10s, and eventually the top fives will come.”

He also started racing an IMCA Modified in 2025 for a handful of shows.

“When I got in the mod, it actually helped my stock car game. I learned from driving the mod that I was not driving this thing hard enough,” Dittmer said.

This season his racing has been limited; he and his wife recently had a baby, and he’s raced six nights in the IMCA Stock Cars.

“Next year we’re going to go full season with the mod and keep running this,” Dittmer said.

He credits the help of fellow driver Kalvin Kesselberg helping with his stock car, and said that type of cohesiveness in the pit area is what he likes about the sport.

“Family attitude. From the outside looking in, I don’t think a lot of people realize how tight knit everybody is,” Dittmer said. “That to me, the camaraderie with everybody – we compete, but we have beers afterwards.”

Driver Profile

Will Dittmer

IMCA Stock Car and Modified #53

Age: 29

Residence: Casselton, N.D.

Sponsors: Billy’s Custom Cover Up, Toop Insurance, Team Friday, Climax Detailing, Dakota Engine Builders, Stevenator Photography, Coulee Bend Farms, Wild Racing Chassis & Service, Dittmer Agricultural Spraying, Noonan Enterprises LLC