Bobby Isaac- What Speed Looks Like

Tarheel Press is proud to announce its latest title- Bobby Isaac: What Speed Looks Like. Written by Michigan native Steve Lehto, the book is a detailed study of a little-known NASCAR champion, a legendary automobile, and a revolutionary engine.
Bobby Isaac was born in 1932 and raised on a 12-acre farm in the Catfish community of rural Catawba County, North Carolina, firmly nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His unspectacular rise from farm-boy to mill worker to race car driver was cause of little notice from the national press in the still-overlooked sport of stock car racing during the 1960s. However, in racing circles, the quiet, illiterate, and humble man who rarely gave interviews was known as a furious competitor.
Though he had great success at smaller tracks banging fenders with the likes of Ned Jarrett, Ralph Earnhardt, and the Pettys, his real fame came during his association with the legendary Dodge Charger and its equally memorable heart- the powerful "Hemi" engine.  Much of the book meticulously details the rise of both this unique engine and its design, as well as the legendary Chrysler, Plymouth, and Dodge automobiles that were powered by the unique internal combustion design.

       Throughout the late sixties and early seventies, the Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Charger dominated the NASCAR circuit, with Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, and Bobby Isaac leading the charge with one variation or another of these automobiles. With little more than luck and sheer determination, the savvy Isaac captured the Grand National Championship in 1970.
       In less than a year, with another Hemi and another Dodge, Isaac traveled to the Bonneville Salt Flats in the Utah desert and made automotive history by setting endurance records and speed records never dreamed of-  and some of which are still unbroken. One hundred laps at 194 miles per hour, a "flying" mile at 217 miles per hour, and many other records only added to the mystique of the enigmatic driver. As a final stroke of mystery, within months of setting these records and trying to defend his NASCAR championship, Isaac walked away from the big league of racing as quietly as he had entered it.

      A few years later, at the age of 45, Isaac passed away from a heart attack after running in a short-track race at his beloved Hickory Motor Speedway. Though the national spotlight focused on the death of Elvis Presley, the NASCAR world was stunned. David Pearson, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Tim Flock, Ned Jarrett and Neil Castles were pall bearers.  Isaac's final resting place is on a hill in a cemetery overlooking the Hickory track.
      This book is the definitive work on one of NASCAR's most overlooked champions, as well as the machines which powered him to victory. It contains over 200 pages and features many never-published photographs and interviews. More information is available online at www.hickoryracing.com and is available through most bookstores.
     

     This book is a must-have for race fans, armchair historians, Dodge Chargers, Hemi's, or any one who remembers the days when racin' was racin' !

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