Koch aims to keep momentum and success going from 'dream' 2024 season

For two years, when it came to the Wissota Super Stock national championship, Dexton Koch knocked on the door.

He finished second to five-time super stock national champion Shane Sabraski – by 51 points in 2022 and 32 in 2023.

In 2024, he kicked that door down.

Koch, who lives in Becker, Minn., won his first Wissota Super Stock national championship of his career in 2024 thanks to 27 feature wins (that counted towards national points).  He topped Sabraski by 41 points in the final standings.  He also won the Wissota 100 at I-94 EMR Speedway in September, making for a 28-win season overall.

“That’s been our goal the last 4-5 years,” Koch said. “We’ve been chasing that, and finally got it done.”

In addition to the national championship and the Wissota 100, Koch also won the Fast Lane Super Stock Series title. What made his season more impressive was his 28 feature wins came at 12 different tracks.

“It was a dream season,” Koch said. “We had some big, memorable wins. Everything worked out in our favor. The car was really good all year.”

The 29-year-old works as a diesel technician at I-State Truck Center. He got into racing by attending Granite City Motor Park (then known as Golden Spike Speedway) in Sauk Rapids as a kid.

“We’d come watch the races on Sunday night, and I got into racing with that,” Koch said.

Koch jumped into a street stock initially, but soon settled in the Wissota Super Stock class, where he’s been for a dozen years.

“Just the affordability of them,” Koch said of what he likes about the class. “They’re so much cheaper, and it’s a good competitive class. It’s easy to tune in on the cars.”

During that time he’s risen to the top of the Wissota Super Stock ranks in central Minnesota. Since 2019, he has 105 feature victories in the class, including 21 or more in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He won 76 features from 2022-24 alone.

One driver who has been a top competitor is Sabraski, who is closing in on 1,000 career feature wins. Sabraski has won five super stock national titles, including three straight from 2021-23.

“It makes a guy better,” Koch said. “Normally we’re pretty competitive with him at the end-of-the-year specials.  As much as you hate getting second to the guy all the time, it makes you better and makes you work on your stuff.”

Koch had three wins in Arizona in January and has wins at Granite City, Princeton and KRA Speedways this year. His win at KRA was part of the Fast Lane Super Stock Series, which he won in 2024.  While it’s still early, Koch leads the Wissota national points over Sabraski, but the focus this year isn’t necessarily on winning the national title.

“We’re going to have fun this season with the super stock and see where it leads to,” Koch said.  “We’re going out there and doing the best we can and be competitive. The last week or two, we’ve got things clicking again, hopefully we can keep pulling off some wins and see where it leads to.”

There are some changes in Koch’s future racing plans. The plan is to move to the Wissota Late Model class. Koch is hoping to maybe run a few shows later in the season this year, with a goal of chasing the Wissota Late Model Rookie of the Year crown in 2026.

 “We figured it’s time, that’s always been the dream goal is to run a late model,” Koch said. “It will be fun to cut back and not run 60-70 shows.”

The winning has been fun for Koch, but he enjoys even more about racing.

“Just the family atmosphere,” Koch said. “It’s fun coming out here racing and being competitive but at the end of the night, you sit around and talk with guys and everything, it’s fun having another family.”

Driver Profile

Dexton Koch

Wissota Super Stock #78K

Age: 29

Residence: Becker, Minn.

Sponsors: MTH, 6th Street Logistics, Collins Brothers Towing of St. Cloud, Amanda Koch Coldwell Banker Realty, Espana Silk, Rollies Rednecks and Longnecks, Kim’s Kleaning Services Fast Track Automotive, Racers X Performance Parts, GDU/Fox Race Shocks, Adams Automotive, Stenberg Enterprises, Cumberland Oils & Fuels, Connection Transport & Accounting, Buzz Signs & Graphics