71 days until Daytona: A salute to Bobby Isaac
With just 71 days left until the green flag flies to start the Daytona 500 Feb. 26th on FOX, it’s time to salute the late, great NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Isaac.
Thirty-five of Isaac’s 37 career wins came in the No. 71, and he won three races at Daytona — Daytona 500 qualifying races in 1964 and ’69, and the Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 in 1971.
Isaac’s career peaked during the aero wars of 1969-70 when he drove one of the most iconic cars in NASCAR history, a bright-red, winged Dodge Daytona owned by Nord Krauskopf and bearing the number 71 and K&K Insurance sponsorship.
In 1969, Isaac set a record that still stands today, winning 19 NASCAR Premier Series poles. He also won 17 races that year, which was not too shabby, either.
Although he didn’t win as many races in 1970, Isaac won his first and only championship that year, amassing 11 victories, 32 top-five finishes, and 13 poles.
Isaac’s crew featured some of the biggest heroes in NASCAR lore: Crew chief Harry Hyde would later by portrayed by Robert Duvall as Harry Hogge in the Tom Cruise film “Days of Thunder.”
One of the other crewmen was Robert Gee, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s grandfather and one of the premier fabricators in NASCAR history. Buddy Parrott, who went on to be one of NASCAR’s top crew chiefs, was on the team, as was Raymond Fox Jr., son of the famed car owner and mechanic.
The right driver, right team, right car, and the right time. Together, they made history.
The team even went to the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1971, where Isaac set 28 speed records, including hitting 217.368 miles per hour in the flying kilometer in his winged Dodge.
And that sharp red paint? It was actually a Ford color called “Poppy Red” that was used on the 1964 Mustang.
