Bobby Isaac

Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most famously associated with driving Nord Krauskopf's red No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge Charger. Isaac was NASCAR's Grand National Series champion in 1970. Isaac abruptly retired from full-time top-level competition in 1973 and died of a heart attack during a late model race at Hickory Motor Speedway in 1977. For his achievements, Isaac was named as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers and inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Early life Isaac grew up on a farm near Catawba, North Carolina, the second-youngest of nine children. He finished school after the sixth grade, which led to the incorrect rumor that he could neither read nor write.

NASCAR career

Isaac began racing full-time in 1956, but it took him seven years to break into the Grand National division. He won the championship in 1970 driving the No. 71 Dodge Charger Daytona sponsored by K&K Insurance. His crew chief was Harry Hyde. Isaac and Hyde took the car to Talladega in November and set a closed-course speed record.

Isaac won 37 races in NASCAR's top series during his career, including 11 in his championship season, and started from the pole position 49 times. Isaac currently holds the NASCAR record for most poles in a single season, with 20 in 1969. In 1970, he turned a 201.104 mph lap at Talladega, a record that stood until 1983.

Isaac dropped out of the 1973 Talladega 500 mid-race in an impulsive decision which surprised his pit crew and the team owner. "I wasn't afraid I was going to wreck...I don't have anything to prove to myself or to anybody else. I know how it feels to win and lose. I know how it feels to be a champion. And now I know how it feels to quit. It just entered my mind at that moment," Isaac said. "I decided to quit and that was that. (Team owner) Bud Moore didn't know I had quit until after the race. I didn't know about (Larry) Smith at that time." (Larry Smith was the first fatality at Talladega Superspeedway, which happened earlier in the race). Isaac did not participate in any further 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup races after Talladega, and the presumption by sports commentators in late 1973 was that he was retiring from the sport.

Ultimately, Isaac did return to NASCAR racing as a driver from 1974 through 1976, on a reduced schedule.

Land speed records 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. Though Isaac was revived briefly at the hospital and was conversing with friends, he later died from a heart attack caused by heat exhaustion, at 12:45 a.m. on August 14, 13 days after his 45th birthday.

Details of Isaac's pit lane collapse on the night of his death were given to reporters by friend and former racing driver Ned Jarrett. Jarrett asserted at that time that the reason Isaac left the 1973 Talladega 500 was because he "had heard a voice that told him to quit".

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23rd 1819 Winston Cup Series NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Pts Ref 1972 K&K Insurance Racing 71 Dodge RSD DAY RCH ONT CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR19* TAL CLT DOV MCH RSD TWS DAY BRI TRN ATL TAL MCH NSV DAR RCH DOV 19th 5050.85 Donlavey Racing 98 Ford MAR NWS Matthews Racing 27 Chevy CLT CAR TWS 1973 Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ford RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV CLT DOV TWS RSD MCH DAY BRI ATL TAL NSV DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR 26th 3352.4 1974 Matthews Racing 27 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL 33rd 152.94 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford DAR NWS Ellington Racing 28 Chevy MAR TAL NSV DOV DAY BRI NSV ATL POC TAL MCH DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR 29 CLT RSD MCH K&K Insurance Racing 17 Dodge CLT CAR ONT 1975 Ellington Racing 28 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV 48th 405 Norris Reed 83 Chevy CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH DAR DOV NWS MAR Puro Racing 75 Mercury CLT RCH Ed Gibson 3 Chevy CAR BRI ATL ONT 1976 Howard & Egerton Racing 6 Chevy RSD DAY CAR RCH BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV 114th 49 Neil Castles CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 1963 Bondy Long Plymouth DNQ 1964 Nichels Engineering Dodge 4 15 1966 Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 14 21 1967 K&K Insurance Racing Dodge 23 19 1968 11 36 1969 2 30 1970 3 5 1971 2 10 1972 1 33 1973 Bud Moore Engineering Ford 10 2 1974 Matthews Racing Chevrolet 3 8