
When Isaak got an invitation from his buddy Garrett Jones to drive one of his cars, Isaak was just excited for the opportunity. Little did he expect to become the first of his rookie class to claim a Junior Honda win.
But the combination of car and driver proved just the ticket to the checkers for a determined Isaak on Sunday afternoon.
The heat race offered little indication of what was to come. He started sixth (based on a crummy pill draw by Dad) and finished fifth. The car looked good and fast, but Isaak still needed to figure out how to handle it. He had only first sat in it for practice on Saturday, and new rides take some getting used to.
During the break, he got some advice from Garrett — when you’re moving to take a spot on the inside, stick to it and don’t back off. Isaak took that to heart for the main event, driving from the back all the way to the front in the 30 lap race.
Yes, he was supposed to have started fifth. But his chain fell off right after hot laps, so when he came to the pits for adjustments, he got sent back to seventh. He didn’t let that faze him at all. Isaak took two positions back on the second lap, passing Tyler Clem and Braden Nash to reclaim fifth, a spot he held for more than half the race, which featured a battle between Danny Sams and A.J. Freitas up front.
At lap 19, things changed. Hunter Durocher spun out, causing a yellow flag. Isaak’s chain came off, and Tyler’s car also needed work. Both came to the pits. Braden’s chain also popped off during caution, bringing him in to the pits, too. On the restart, Stetson Lail ran off the track, curving back on into Hunter’s car and then nicking Isaak’s 6. When all the cars sorted back out, Isaak was in third.
On the next restart, Tyler grabbed third away from Isaak. Then came a couple more yellows. Starting up again, Isaak overtook Tyler on turn 3. Two laps later, Isaak pressed inside A.J. between turns 1 and 2 to claim second. He then zoomed up to Danny’s bumper. Said the announcer: “The fastest car on the race track is Isaak Solochek’s.”
As Isaak angled for first, A.J. spun out and was sent to the back. Isaak restarted in second, and two laps later, Isaak passed Danny in the back turns to grab first with the white flag flying. Danny moved to try to take the spot back, going three-wide between Isaak and Braden. Isaak got away clear, but Danny and Braden collided, both flipping partially. Hunter smacked the wall trying to avoid the wreckage, and Stetson also stalled in the grass trying to get past. Red flag came out with one lap to go. Shootout time.
The announcer put it best: “This is going to be the biggest lap of Isaak Solochek’s career.”
Isaak led the field with one to go. He kept the pack slow going into 3 and then took off, with Braden hot on his tail. Isaak held the lead going into turn 3 of the final lap when Braden slid inside. Isaak held the outside line, never letting up on the throttle, and maintained his lead, winning the race by 0.019 seconds, or about six inches. Again, we’ll let the announcer put this in perspective: “Nine times out of ten, the inside car will take it.” This was that other time.

“It was so cool,” Isaak said after the race. “It felt like a shotgun and cars are like flying out of it. I was like, whoa.”
He added that he didn’t feel threatened, though he was well aware that Braden was breathing down his neck: “I knew I was faster.” Wow.
Congrats too to Tyler Clem, who won the 2009 Junior Honda points championship. And special thanks and congratulations to Garrett Jones, who in addition to letting Isaak drive his car also won the Senior Honda and Light 160 races.