Isaak Solochek fell in love with racing after watching the Pixar movie Cars. The 2007 Daytona 500 got his juices pumped. So when he got the chance to race quarter midgets himself, how could he say no?
• Isaak's favorite drivers are Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.
• Isaak eats peanut butter crackers and drinks Gatorade between races.
• Isaak psychs himself up by playing Mario Kart Racing on his Nintendo DS and Ferrari GT Evolution on his iPod.
• Isaak's next race is scheduled for Feb. 21 in Tampa.
Lyra took a break from fixing up Isaak’s cars on Monday to get in a little dirt racing of her own.
She ran Kayla Jones’ #4 Bomber in a six-lap media race during the Bubba Army USAC Sprint Nationals at East Bay, placing second of four. Lyra made her big move at the start, stealing second place going into the first turn. She had first in her sights but couldn’t get close as the car kept pushing up the track.
“That was hard,” she said as she shook dirt from her hair afterward. “But it was fun.”
Isaak stayed up late to watch Lyra race, and then to catch the A-main of the first night’s Sprint races. Damion “the Demon” Gardner dominated that exciting 30-lap event, winning by nearly half a lap over the next closest driver, Bryan Clauson.
Isaak said he thought the Sprint racing was “better than NASCAR.” But the best part of the night, he added, was “watching Mommy race.”
As promised, here’s the video for that Junior Honda quarter midget 100 lap race. The kids completed well over 100 laps, but lots of them on caution. Just 85 that counted.
Congrats to Braden Nash, who took his first Junior Honda win. Isaak was thrilled to finish second. Next race day is Feb. 21. Hope to see you there.
Isaak returned to the Tampa quarter midget track Sunday ready to put to rest the bad luck that dogged him during the season opening Junior Honda fun race of two weeks ago.
He showed he still has what it takes.
To set the lineup for the 100-lap race, the drivers did batch qualifying — 90 seconds on the track, best single lap times decide the order. Isaak, who in the past has generally bombed his qualifiers, finished a strong fourth, just .05 seconds behind the second place time.
Isaak held either fourth or third for the opening 30 or so laps of the race, until he tangled with Brok Bregenzer in lap traffic. He got charged with causing the ensuing spin and was sent to the back. A combination of smart passes and other drivers’ misfortunes put Isaak back into the lead group as the clock ticked down. (The race had a 45 minute time limit if the drivers could not get to 100 laps.)
Even as the temperatures dropped, Isaak ran a strong race, finishing second after 85 laps were complete and the time ran out.
Junior Animal racing was a beast by contrast.
In the heat race, Isaak broke his steering rod after contact with A.J. Freitas midway through, causing his left front wheel to turn out. Even so, Isaak pressed on, controlling the car so well that it didn’t draw a caution (although many people marveled at how well he controlled the car). He actually finished the race, about three-quarters of a lap down. Note to driver: Next time, stop and get the yellow flag!
By the time the main race rolled around, the track was considerably colder and slicker than we expected or prepared for. Isaak led briefly, but had trouble controlling the car and after one spinout was unable to regain any position. He finished fourth. Best part of that was that now there are four Animal cars instead of two. We hope to see even more, as Isaak works to improve his skills.
One more very important thing: Isaak was driving this week with two new sponsors — DWT Racing and tbt*, Florida’s fastest growing newspaper. We look forward to welcoming even more sponsors in the weeks to come.
Isaak is excited to announce his first big name racing sponsor, DWT Racing.
As we learned all too well last week, you can’t have enough wheels for your race car. Just the slightest ding at the wrong angle can set your tire flat and put you in the back of the pack.
So having the support of the nation’s leading kart wheel maker for Isaak’s 2010 season will make a big difference as he vies for the top spot in Junior Honda and Junior Animal quarter midget racing. We look forward to a great year with DWT, as well as our other sponsors and technical supporters.
If you’d like to sponsor Isaak this year, please review our sponsorship packet and contact us at jeff@solochek.net.
First, the good. Isaak looked awesome as the Junior Honda quarter midget season kicked off at the Tampa track on Sunday. The car was fast and the driver on fire as Isaak jumped from fourth to second in the heat race, speeding toward Danny Sams in the top spot. Danny and Isaak soared out front, nearly half a lap ahead of the rest of the pack, with Isaak gaining ground.
Funny how one moment changes things.
A.J. Freitas spun out in front of Isaak as Isaak approached to lap A.J. The cars barely touched, but the contact came on Isaak’s right front wheel, causing the tire to lose all its air. We got a replacement on during a caution. But as Isaak fought to regain position from the back, he couldn’t catch a break. He got called for rough driving twice — once on the last lap, never crossing the finish line. The judges called the penalty on Isaak, though the video shows he had position going into turn 3 before that second wreck occurred.
That put him in the back row for the main race. Usually not a problem. But again, Isaak had no luck with the judges.
On the first lap, Tyler Clem spun in front of Isaak and collected him. The judges said Isaak caused the wreck. The video suggests otherwise. But they don’t have instant replay at the track, and their calls are what we live by. So Isaak went to the back for the restart. He quickly moved up into third, racing up to the bumper of second place Jacob Nicoletti. Isaak got a bit greedy going inside to pass Jacob on turn 1 when he didn’t have the position. He hit the rumble strips and went into the grass, spinning back onto the track and stalling out, bumping Jacob’s car, which continued on by.
In most instances, they call a DOT when that happens. In this case, they assessed Isaak with a second strike (later explained as rough driving “against himself,” as no other cars were damaged or stopped), and black flagged him. Junior Honda over.
It was a bitter pill for Isaak to swallow. He struggled to understand why he got so many calls against him, especially when he — not to mention many in the crowd — saw things quite differently than did the judges.
Here’s the rest of the good stuff: Isaak put on his game face, disappointed though he was, and strode over to his Junior Animal car and drove it like Junior Honda never happened. Taking a deep breath. Moving on.
Quarter midget racing resumed Sunday in Tampa with a brand new division called Animal, named for the Briggs & Stratton racing motor. Isaak and A.J. Freitas ran in the debut, in the junior level, and Isaak emerged with the win. His Dirk’s Motorworks engine, paired with a strong setup and excellent driving, put Isaak out front in his heat and main races, never lagging for a lap. A.J. came close at times, but when Isaak hit his marks, he widened his lead.
Both boys drove great, having practiced just a handful of times before the fun race. With more time behind the wheel — and hopefully more drivers in the class — we look forward to some exciting Animal racing in the months ahead.
Isaak also raced in the Junior Honda division, and his car was is fine form as he zoomed in the top two of his heat racing, looking to grab the top spot. With about six laps to go, though, A.J. spun in front of Isaak, just tagging Isaak’s right front wheel enough to cause it to go flat. We got Isaak back on the track, but then a series of calls went against him and he didn’t end up finishing either the heat or the main. We’ll share more details later, when the video is complete.
For now, though, we’ll just savor the Animal win and count on better Junior Honda days ahead. Cut to Animal racing video.
That’s it. The 2009 quarter midget racing season is officially over, now that Isaak has picked up his hardware from the New Smyrna club.
The group celebrated the season Sunday afternoon in the 500 Club at the Daytona International Speedway. Makes you feel like a real race team being in there, surrounded by pictures of all the great NASCAR drivers. Folks on the track tour were jealous, too, peering in from the outside like the kids were something special.
Isaak’s trophy was for participating in Junior Honda. He didn’t make enough points races to qualify for the championship battle, having moved up from the novice class in the fall. He’ll have a shot during 2010. And check out that cool hoodie — it’s embroidered with his name and division, as well as the club logo.
We still don’t have the New Smyrna schedule. But we do know Tampa racing starts next weekend. Don’t forget to come check out the action. Should be exciting.
The 2010 quarter midget racing season is upon us, with the first race of the Tampa schedule just a week away. On Feb. 7 comes a 100-lapper, so we figured it could never be too soon to get Isaak’s endurance up for what will be the longest race of his short career.
After heating up his tires during practice Saturday, we put the challenge to him. Lay down 100 laps without stopping, just to see how it goes. Isaak raced out onto the track and gave it a go. With just 10 laps left, though, he suddenly let off the throttle and pulled into the pits. Had he run out of gas? Did he have troubles we hadn’t noticed?
Nope. Nature called. And unlike older racers who would race through to the end, Isaak wasn’t about to mess up that car. So he parked it, climbed out and took care of business. Then he jumped back into the car, put it back on the track and sizzled for 100 uninterrupted laps. Can’t wait for next Sunday to get here!
Isaak took home another trophy today at the Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association annual awards ceremony. Having started after all the other racers in the Junior Honda division, he finished with the least amount of points and didn’t even compete in enough races to qualify for the championship.
Couldn’t tell by that smile, though.
He had a fun day with friends, good barbecue and a nice nap on the way home. Next week is the awards banquet for the New Smyrna Quarter Midget Racing Association (at the Daytona International Speedway — cool), and then racing kicks off again on Jan. 24 at Tampa. Come on out to catch the action.
Isaak is selling one of his quarter midget race cars. The details are below, and more pictures are available on Isaak’s Web site. If you’re interested, please send an e-mail to isaak@solochek.net to get the conversation started.
‘08 NC Grizzly 33-inch (small)
• Re-powder-coated frame (2009)
• Rockin’ Rookie seat with upholstery
• Rear aluminum axle with ceramic bearing
• Front tapered bearings
• JR pedals with grips
• Steering wheel with Tanner quick release hub
• Sliding motor plate (mounts/slides straight on chassis frame)
• Drive hub for RR
• Idler hub for LR
• Adjustable steering rod
• MyChron 3 (has a cracked face, but works fine)
• Aluminum oil catch can
• 6-inch fuel tank
Disclosures:
• Tailcone has a melted hole in it from touching tailpipe
• Front belly pan is patched up, but still good to go
• Needs new seatbelt and submarine belt to be race legal
$2,700 for chassis only, add $500 for used Tanner Gen 2 shocks, springs and a used set of rims and tires
