About Isaac

Simulator Racing – Inspirations  

Isaac got his first taste of racing on a desktop in his bedroom. He had grown up a NASCAR fan, but as many racers know, there is a great difference between watching a race and competing in one. Of course, simulator racing can only do so much to replicate the true experience of putting your life on the line for the sake of competition, but even still it was enough to capture young Isaac’s attention by the horns.  

He was hooked almost instantly and became obsessed.  

The catalyst that led Isaac to build his own simulator setup was his father. Isaac remembers sitting on his dad’s lap in their 2-bedroom 1-bath house in Monrovia, Indiana, playing NASCAR 2003 against computer generated competitors.  

Before long Isaac had created his own online account to compete with other people. At the time FSB Racing League, the first series Isaac competed online in, had a strict age requirement of 16 years old. He quickly figured out how to circumvent this roadblock though, by using all his dad’s information and won several races in the league; Isaac was 11 years old.  

Upgrading his wheel a year or so later (Thanks, Santa), Isaac continued to get better and better and to compete in different online leagues.  

He had hundreds of starts, countless top 5s, dozens of wins and even a few championships under his belt before he ever took the green in a real race.  

National Kart Racing – Proving Grounds 

Eventually Isaac was able to convince Jeff and Tyler Quakenbush, loyal customers to the Johnson family body shop in Martinsville, IN, to give him a shot in a real dirt oval kart.  

After running a few races with the Quakenbush family, Isaac was ready to run his own kart … or so he thought.  

He and his father ended up at their first solo outing at Bloomington Speedway pitted out of the back of their pickup truck surrounded by 30-foot trailers.  

Fortunately for the Johnson father-son duo, Glynn Big-Head Neal (a stranger at the time), paid them a visit in their darkest hour.  

Glynn could see from a distance that Isaac’s kart setup was completely off-base and decided he would ask if they needed a hand. The Johnson’s were thrilled by the offer and quickly followed every one of Big-Heads suggestions.  

Isaac won the feature that night at Bloomington and went on to run nationally with Big-Head constantly learning the craft of going fast.  

Kenyon Midgets – Honing Skills  

In 2021 Isaac got the opportunity to run a midget in the Kenyon Midget Series, which bears its name for the most prestigious midget driver of all time, Mel Kenyon. 

Brad Hayes, the owner of the Kenyon Midget Series as well as a competing team, took note of Isaac in the few races he ran in ‘21 and in 2022 he asked Isaac to run to get in one of his cars.  

Isaac was thrilled to get more seat time in a midget as it was the first full car he had raced. Even though he was not able to make every race on the Kenyon calendar, Isaac took the green in a handful of events and finished the ‘22 season off with a shocking drive from last to fifth place at Anderson Speedway.  

One of the primary goals of the Kenyon series is to provide a place for drivers to hone their skills before stepping into a larger car. It paid off well for Isaac in that very way.  

Dirt Late Model – Gearing Up  

As he was racing the Kenyon Midget, Isaac also met up with Brayton Laster and the rest of the Laster gang. Brayton is a fellow up and coming driver currently pursuing the ARCA Menard’s and NASCAR Truck series.  

To fill out his own schedule Brayton was racing a dirt super late model and had a spare car in the shop. He generously offered to let Isaac sit in the late model at the races they were already traveling to.  

It was in the late model that Isaac got his first laps 800+ horsepower dirt car.

Pavement Late Model – Clicking Laps 

In the final quarter of 2022, Isaac and his media management partner Tucker Wulff of Wulff Media Group set their sights on southeastern pavement stock car racing to get him more experience in that category of racing.  

Isaac hopped on a plane to Charlotte, North Carolina where he and Tucker visited with several teams in the area.  

Isaac was able to get behind the wheel of a Pro Late Model for the first time at the famous Hickory Motor Speedway in a test day with Costner Weaver Motorsports. After only two sessions in the car, Isaac was running competitive race lap times.  

In 2023, Isaac was able to race in two Pro Late Model races with Costner Weaver earning a 1 Top 5 and 2 Top 10s. 

In 2023, after two successful starts in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series with Costner Weaver Motorsports, Isaac was able to propel himself into making his debut in the ARCA Menards Series at his home track, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Isaac took his debut as an opportunity to prove he belonged on the track by finishing 12th.

Isaac’s ARCA Menards Series debut was even more unique because the primary sponsor on his racecar was his employer, George E. Booth Co., LLC, a process automation distributor located in Speedway, Indiana. At the George E. Booth Co., LLC, Isaac works as a sales engineer.

Isaac Johnson’s story isn’t done. He got back to work in 2024 and will be racing in the ARCA Menards season opener at Daytona International Speedway with Van Alst Motorsports. His racecar will represent Endress+Hauser, one of George E. Booth Co., LLC’s key partners.

Isaac is focused on making 2024 his best year yet and he will be pushing to chase the championship in 2025.