Ike Durbin

Isaac Mitch "Ike" Durbin (born October 31st, 1991) is an American race car driver who currently drives the #711 7-Eleven Gessler for Team Timothy in the TM Master Cup Series. He is also the owner of Durbin Sport Racing, which fields cars in the FARC Lowe Dollar Series, and previously in the National Racing Championship.

Early life
Ike Durbin was born in Noblesville, Indiana. His father, Jack Durbin, was a racer, known for running in late model divisions, mainly in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions. Growing up, Durbin often went on the road with his father’s team, and thus grew up around and found a love for racing.

2009: A Taste of ARLA
Durbin began his major motorsports career by racing for Sean Suzuka Racing in the FARC Truck Series (then known as the ARLA Thunder Trucks). Despite having a few strong showings early, he failed to score a top ten finish and generally ran in the lower mid-field.

Also occuring that year, Durbin attempted the RROL Elite Series round of Jarama as a one-off for the same team. He drove a black No. 58 Saar Tyrant. Despite making it through the pre-qualifying round, his drive in the main qualifying round was mired with incidents, and he finished just outside of a transfer spot.

Despite failing to qualify for the event, his drive was enough to earn an audition to drive the number 16 Skittles Calton-Morel Nova for four RROL races. Of his four starts, he scored a best finish of twelfth in his debut race at Richmond International Raceway.

2010: RROL and Team Ownership
After decent performances in his limited RROL showings in 2009, Durbin would be signed to drive Sam Mitchell Racing's Dell #98 STS Arrow for the 2010 season. Despite strong showings here and there, including an 11th place finish in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Durbin's season would be mired with inconsistency, as he would fail to qualify for around half of the season's events. It wasn't until late in the season at the Talladega Superspeedway where he would score his first top-ten finish in the RROL. The season finale at the Decatur Raceway would mark his first top-five, finishing third. Durbin would end up 33rd in the final standings.

2010 would also mark Durbin's first foray into ownership, as he and his father would open up a part-time team in the ARLA Thunder Trucks and the RROL Elite Series. While both entries made limited starts in their respective leagues, this would create the foundation for what is now Durbin Sport Racing.

2011: Development
Going into 2011, Durbin would be re-signed to pilot the #98 Sam Mitchell Racing STS in the rebranded Vaughn Stock Car Championship. His sophomore season would be stronger than his rookie campaign, despite missing the season opening round at Daytona. Durbin would finish 25th in the final standings, scoring a top five finish at Mallory Park.

At the end of 2011, he made his first TM Master Cup Series start in the Round of Decatur, driving for Full Throttle Motorsports, a team he had failed to qualify for the Round of Indianapolis with. Durbin ran an Omecha MA02 at Decatur, the circuit where Omecha cars do most of their road course testing. After racking up enough miles in testing and in first practice to obtain his Master License, Durbin snuck his way through the qualifying races and onto the starting grid for the Round of Decatur. He ran in the lower midfield during the race and stayed out of trouble.

He also made his first career FARC Lowe Dollar Series (then ARLA Elite Series) start, in the season finale event, the Rockford 200. Driving for good friend Jim More, Durbin used strategy and speed to sneak into the lead late in the B-Main. He lead ten laps and won the race, making it into the main show. Durbin was involved in two incidents in the feature, finishing 12th.

2012: TM Lights
In 2012, Durbin would make the jump to the TM Lights Series, driving for Great Lakes Motorsports, the team he ran the Rockford 200 with. Although the team had low expectations and a rough start to the season, Durbin had a strong mid-season, taking the points lead briefly. He would finish 6th in the final standings after late-season troubles.

Career Statistics
2009 ARLA Thunder Trucks Season: Best Finish: 11th (Chicagoland) Top 5's - 0 Top 10's - 0 Final Points Finish: 30th

2010 RROL Season: Best Finish - 3rd (Decatur) Top 5's - 1 Top 10's - 2 Final Points Finish - 33rd

2011 VSCC Season: Best Finish - 5th (Mallory Park) Top 5's - 1 Top 10's - 1 Final Points Position - 25th

2012 TM Lights Season: Best Finish - 2nd (Peoria) Top 5's - Top 10's - Final Points Position - 6th

Trivia

 * Ike Durbin is not related to Tony Durbin.
 * Durbin is openly gay, and opts to have the Pride flag by his driver signature, instead of his home state or country.