Isaac Johnson, an ARCA stock car driver and Martinsville resident, left, talks with Todd Lucey, general manager at Endress+Hauser, next to Johnson’s No. 34 car during a ceremony at Endress+Hauser’s Greenwood campus on Feb. 7. RYAN TRARES | DAILY JOURNAL
This was a workday like none other.
Normally when Isaac Johnson heads to Endress+Hauser’s Greenwood campus, it’s to help company officials solve problems and smooth over issues with products. As a project sales representative partnering with the company, he works closely with them daily.
But on Feb. 7, he came to Endress+Hauser in a whole new capacity, and in a new ride — in a Ford stock car bound for the Daytona International Speedway.
“Every race car driver, no matter where you’re from or what racing series you race in, you always dream of racing Daytona,” he said. “Getting to do it with a great company like (Endress+Hauser), getting to work with them every day in my day job, it’s just really unique and a really cool opportunity.”
Johnson joined Endress+Hauser officials in Greenwood to unveil the No. 34 car he’ll be racing in the ARCA Menards Series for the season-opening race, the Daytona ARCA 200 on Feb. 17. Emblazoned with the Endress+Hauser logo and branding, the newly designed car marks the start of a sponsorship opportunity between the company and Johnson’s team, Van Alst Motorsports.
“We get to help an extended Endress+Hauser team member pursue his dreams, and ultimately achieve his dreams, which is to win a NASCAR Cup title sometime in the future,” said Todd Lucey, general manager at Endress+Hauser.
Johnson has been racing for 12 years, but his love of the sport started well before then. His great-grandfather was a huge fan, passing down to his grandfather and then his father.
“We’ve always been around cars and been around NASCAR,” he said.
As a 12-year-old in Martinsville, Johnson got his start in go-kart racing. After a brief hiatus, he returned to racing, winning karting championships before moving up to the Kenyon Midget Series and dirt late models.
He made his ARCA debut in 2023 in the Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. His record caught the eye of Greg Van Alst, a driver himself based out of Anderson who won the Daytona ARCA 200 last year.
“It’s going to be fun working with a driver like Isaac from Indiana,” Van Alst said. “That’s going to be the big thing that’s nice about the team — he’s local, he can come to the shop, hang out and become one of the guys.”
Reaching this point to race at Daytona International Speedway is something Johnson has dreamed of for years.
“I never would have thought, being a kid and sweeping the shop floors of my grandfather’s body shop, that I’d be there at this point,” he said. “I kind of get emotional thinking about it.”
In recent years, the 23-year-old Fishers resident has served as a sales rep for G.E. Booth, a major distributor of process instrumentation products and related services and longtime partner with Endress+Hauser.
“This partnership started because of our longest-tenured and oldest partnership we have with our rep channel. We go to market through all independent representatives. One of our very first representatives we had were the G.E. Booth Co.,” Lucey said.
Only recently was Johnson promoted to a project sales role, meaning much more interaction and work at Endress+Hauser. The connection he’s had with Endress+Hauser led to the opportunity for the company to be the primary sponsor on the hood of Johnson’s car.
For the company, helping sponsor Johnson’s car not only supports one of their own, but also helps Endress+Hauser connect with customers connected to the ARCA world.
“We were very proud to start forming this partnership with Isaac,” Lucey said.
The ARCA Menards Series is the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America, a stock car league that feeds drivers into NASCAR’s touring series.
Johnson is eagerly anticipating his first race at Daytona — one of the most legendary race tracks in the United States.
“Those high banks are something else,” he said. “We went to the test a couple weeks ago, and coming off of turn two and seeing that long-back straightaway and those high banks for the first time, that was a moment I’ll never forget.”
Endress+Hauser has committed to sponsor Johnson’s car for the Daytona race, as well as ARCA races in Indianapolis, Phoenix, Kansas City, and either Talladega or New York. Two more race commits are probable, giving Endress+Hauser a presence in seven of the 20 ARCA races, Lucey said.
When he’s not focused on racing, Johnson will remain a steady presence at Endress+Hauser in his day job.
“He’s helping us with a customer issue as well, as we speak. So after we get done with this, he’s going to go back and help us out with a customer situation,” Lucey said.
The Daytona ARCA 200 at Daytona International Speedway will take place at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17, with television coverage on FS1.
