Bobby Isaac
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Bobby Isaac (born August 1, 1932 or 1934, the exact year is disputed) is a former NASCAR Grand National (now Nextel Cup) Series champion. Isaac competed in 307 races in NASCAR's top series from 1963 to 1976, and won the championship in 1970 driving the #71 Dodge Charger Daytona sponsored by K&K Insurance.
Isaac grew up on a farm near Catawba, North Carolina, the second-youngest of nine children. He began racing full-time in 1956, but it took him seven years to break into the Grand National division. Once he arrived, though, he proved to be a fierce competitor. Isaac won 37 races in NASCAR's top series during his career, including 11 in his championship season, and started from the pole position 50 times. He took 20 poles in a single season in 1969, a NASCAR record that will probably never be broken.
Isaac also made his mark outside of NASCAR. In September 1971, he went to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and set 28 world speed records, some of which still stand to this day.
Bobby Isaac was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1979, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1998 NASCAR honored Isaac as one of its 50 greatest drivers of all time. Unfortunately, Bobby did not live to enjoy any of the accolades. He died of a heart attack following a race at his home track of Hickory Motor Speedway in 1977.
