K&K Insurance, Dodge, NASCAR, Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker, Dave Marcis, Neil Bonnett, Harry Hyde
1971-1972: Troubles and Turmoil.



In light of Chrysler's racing budget cutbacks, the K&K Insurance racing team would also limit their schedule for 1971, ultimately competing in only 26 of the 48 races. Also during the off season, NASCAR had taken measures to elimintae the so-called "exotic" racing equipment, specifically the winged Daytona and Superbird, and Ford's Talladega and Mercury Cyclone Spoiler. Said models were limited to a puny 305 C.I. engine, which effectively banished them from the track. In addition, NASCAR also slapped a carburetor restrictor plate on the Chrysler 426 Hemi and Ford Boss 429 Hemi engines in another attempt to rid the tracks of exotic racing equipment, although both engines were still available to the general public. 


michigan

Bobby Isaac poses with his 1971 Charger at Michigan.


Harry Hyde built several of the new aerodynamic 1971 Chargers for Bobby Isaac to use on the larger tracks, while still utilizing the trusty 1970 Charger for many of the short track events. Isaac picked up two wins early in the season, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and Kingsport Speedway. In the Winston 500 at Talladega, Isaac sat out the race due to health problems, and independent driver Dave Marcis was tapped to drive the famous orange Dodge for the event. Marcis grew up on the short tracks of Wisconsin, and made his first NASCAR start in the 1968 Daytona 500. The Winston 500 was Marcis' first ride in competitve equipment, and Dave showed the world he had the talent to compete with the big boys, leading for much of the event. In fact, he was leading with just six laps to go when the  #71's engine erupted in a ball of smoke and fire, ending Marcis' cinderella run against the concrete wall. But the race did prove that Dave Marcis could be a top NASCAR contender if given the chance.



greenville

At the Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Bobby started alongside pole winner David Pearson.
Isaac got the jump on Pearson at the start, and led all 200 laps of the event.

On July 4th, Bobby Isaac and the K&K Insurance team won their biggest race ever, the Firecracker 400 at Daytona. And they weren't even supposed to be entered in the event! In what was the first of many future skirmishes between Nord Krauskopf and NASCAR, Krauskopf had not originally entered the event, in protest of NASCAR's 426 Hemi restrictor plate rules. Hyde and Isaac were at the track, sans racecar, when fans and the media began asking if they would be competing in the race. Eventually, Krauskopf relented and had a car sent to the track, equipped with a 426 Chrysler "wedge" engine under the hood. Isaac won the race, and the first four cars over the line were powered by Chrysler wedge engines. The aero wars may have been over, but the engine wars had just begun!



bi71bonny


Isaac on the salt at Bonneville.
(Photo courtesy of Aerowarriors.com)


A break in the NASCAR schedule during the month of September offered the team an opportunity set even more speed records, this time at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats. From September 13-16, the team took the old Daytona, modified only slightly from it's NASCAR specifications, and set 28 different land speed records. Many of the milestones set that day still stand. Among the team's accomplishments was a 182.174 MPH average over the 10-mile oval course, and a 217.368 MPH top speed in the Flying Kilometer. A wonderful article about their week on the salt, and a complete list of all the speed records set at Bonneville are available at Aerowarriors.com.



harry

The Dynamic Duo. Harry Hyde and Bobby Isaac.



inside

Takin' Care of Business!


Upon the team's return from Bonneville, Bobby Isaac won the next race at Martinsville. When the 1971 season came to an end, Bobby and the team had won 4 events in 26 starts. Not a bad year, but certainly not as successful as the 1969-70 campaigns.  NASCAR was about to announce big changes for the 1972 season, and there would major changes to the K&K team in 1972 as well.

The 1972 NASCAR season would be the beginning of the "new era" of stock car racing. In 1971, NASCAR had signed Winston cigarettes to be the series title sponsor, and created a prestigious trophy to be awarded to the Grand National Champion, the "Winston Cup." For 1972, NASCAR and Winston made dramatic changes to the Grand National schedule. The 125-mile Daytona 500 qualifying races would no longer be points-paying events, and the season schedule was cut back from 48 races in 1971 to just 31 in 1972. All races had to be at least 250 miles in length, which eliminated all events on the small 1/4 and 3/8-mile speedways at which Isaac had excelled. Since the series was shortened from the previous year, the K&K Insurance team would again compete in all of the events.
 
(Many of the tracks cut from the Winston Cup schedule were added to a new division, called the "Grand National East." Though the fields for the East races were comprised mainly of independent campaigners and rookie contenders, the K&K Insurance team did compete in several East races in 1972 & 1973, winning at least four. The series was dropped after the 1973 season. Click HERE for a great tribute to the GN East.)



bi72riversideb

Isaac at Riverside in 1972. Note the Charger S.E. quarter window treatment.
 (Photo courtesy of Turbo's Racing Photos)



bichar71

Isaac claimed fast time in qualifying for the 1972 Daytona 500.




The season opened on the road course at Riverside, where Isaac finished third. He took the pole for the Daytona 500 at a speed of 186.632 MPH, but finished far back in the pack, in 33rd place. The orange Dodge claimed victory at Rockingham in the fifth race of the year, but the team was nowhere near their previous championship form. Though Isaac was besting the field in qualifications, mechanical problems and bad luck kept him from finishing anywhere near the top of the order. For example, the 1970 Charger puked a motor at Martinsville while Isaac was leading, and a good run in the World 600 was also nixed by engine failure. At Talladega, Isaac took the pole and was stretching his lead over David Pearson when he tangled with a lapped car on the last lap of the race, finishing second. NASCAR's constatnly-changing engine rules, and Krauskopf's disdain for said rules, were also taking it's toll on team morale. And Bobby Isaac was getting fed up. In June, he advised Harry Hyde to look around for another driver in 1973, claiming that he no longer wished to run the entire schedule. Late in August, Hyde found out that Buddy Baker would soon be out of his ride at Petty Enterprises, and made a tentative deal for Baker to drive the K&K Dodge in 1973. Hyde and Krauskopf then offered to maintain a second car for Isaac to race whenever he felt like it. But Isaac declined the offer, believing that a team couldn't do two cars justice (My, how times have changed!). And an early crash and resultant last-place finish in the Southern 500 hastened Isaac's departure. After the race, he announced that he had officially quit the K&K Insurance racing team, effective immediately. With 207 starts, 36 wins, numerous speed records, and the 1970 NASCAR championship in the bag, the dream team was no longer. Isaac walked away from the best ride of his career.
bi71char01.jpg

Bobby Isaac quit the K&K team after the 1972 Southern 500.
(Photo courtesy of Aerowarriors.com)



Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr., or "Buddy", if you prefer, had tasted success in his 14-year career in NASCAR's Grand National division. The son of three-time NASCAR champion Buck Baker, Buddy's first win came in the 1967 National 500 at Charlotte, driving Ray Fox's #3 Dodge. Buddy had been a factory-paid Dodge driver since 1966, and was instrumental in developing the Daytona for Dodge back in 1969. Baker was known as a "leadfoot" driver, preferring the flat-out speed of the superspeedways to the finesse required on the circuit's smaller tracks. On March 24, 1970, the Chrysler Corporation rented the Talladega Speedway under the guise of a "transmission test," and brought their best Daytona test car, several factory engineers, and Buddy Baker along in an attempt to set a new closed-course world speed record. When the day was done, Baker had become the first driver in history to top 200 MPH on a closed course, setting a world record time of  200.447 MPH. Ironically, Baker would now take over the ride of the man who had beaten Baker's world record just eight months later.


 


bb7201

Buddy Baker at Martinsville, 1972.  The trusty 1970 Charger was still kicking!
Note the tire smoke due to the damaged quarter panel.  


Buddy Baker slipped behind the controls of the K&K Dodge at Richmond. A 17th place finish there was followed by an 11th at Dover, 4th at Martinsville, 3rd at North Wilkesboro and Rockingham, and 2nd at Charlotte. And in the season finale at the Texas World Speedway, Buddy Baker won his first event in his new ride. Baker had battled Richard Petty and A.J. Foyt for the win, nipping Foyt at the line by inches. Maybe Baker was just the spark the team needed to get back to championship form.
1973 looked to be a very good year indeed.



buddy

Buddy Baker wins the 1972 season finale at Texas.


 


 
 
 
YEAR
DRIVER
STARTS
WINS
TOP 5
TOP 10
POLES
RANK
1971
Bobby Isaac
25
4
16
1
5
23
 
Dave Marcis
1*
0
0
1
0
21
             
 
1972
Bobby Isaac
24*
1
10
0
8
19
 
Buddy Baker
7*
1
5
0
1
6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

* Starts for the K&K Insurance team. Drove for other owners as well.