Fast Facts: 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Isaac

credit: NASCAR Media
2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Isaac’s career could be summed up in one word: FAST. Isaac and fellow 2016 inductees Jerry Cook, O. Bruton Smith, Terry Labonte and Curtis Turner will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. Here are the Fast Facts on the 1970 premiere series champion.
  • Bobby Isaac was born Aug. 1, 1932 in Catawba, NC. He was the second-youngest of nine children, and suffered through the heartache of losing his father at age 6 and mother at age 16. Isaac saw his first race in Hickory, NC at age 17, and held down jobs in sawmills, a cotton mill and a pool hall, among others, while racing whenever he could.
  • In 1956, Isaac got a full-time sportsman division ride four to five nights a week, and by 1958 he was racing the likes of Ralph Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett and David Pearson. He made his Grand National (now Sprint Cup) Series debut in 1961, and in 1964 picked up his first win in a Daytona 500 qualifier.
  • Isaac competed on a nearly full-time basis from 1968 to 1970, winning 31 times in the three-year span and amassing 35 poles, including a 17-win, 19-pole season in 1969. Isaac was runner-up in the championship standings in 1968, sixth in 1969, and took home the title in 1970, the same year he turned a lap of 201.104 mph at Talladega Superspeedway, a record that stood until 1983.
  • In addition to his 49 premiere series poles, Isaac also set 28 world-class records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September 1971, adding more speed to his legacy.
  • Isaac passed away on Aug. 13, 1977; after pulling out of a Late Model Sportsman race with 25 laps to go at Hickory Motor Speedway, he collapsed on pit road and died later at the hospital from a heart attack.
  • Isaac was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, and is also a member of the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1979) and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1996).
  • Learn more about the NASCAR Hall of Fame at www.nascarhall.com


Fast Facts: 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Isaac Fast Facts: 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Isaac Reviewed by Paula on Tuesday, January 05, 2016 Rating: 5