After returning home from WWII, Isky resumed racing and started grinding cams in his garage, more of an art than a science in those days, and they became one of the top performance cams around. “The Outcast”– based on other old pics I’ve seen, this hot rod may have belonged to Ed “Isky” Iskederian– also known as “The Camfather.” Isky started racing at Bonneville back in 1950, and soon became a legend.

Racing for bragging rights and a record, and not much more. The Bonneville Salt Flats speed meet, 1954.* This one’s sportin’ a rear-mounted engine. Photos by J R Eyerman.Ĭommonly called a “Lakester”– these open-wheeled, tank bodied dragsters were first raced on dry lake beds before the SCTA scene made the move to the Bonneville Salt Flats. There’s also some great video w/insightful commentary at the end– if you can survive the xylophone noodling in the background… Definitely born too late, I was. Great speed machines, as well as that classic 1950’s style– good grooming topped with denim, khakis, white tees, coveralls and awesome old-school racing graphics. There were many that still fiercely held on to pure, brute horsepower over anything else– but many moved forward and a new dawn of streamlined dragster designs utilizing plastic and fiberglass bodies were born that changed the face of American racing forever. The 1950s in particular saw a revolution in the hot-rodding scene that became more aware of the importance of aerodynamics, weight and drag. Many racing legends and innovations have been born on the 160 square mile barren patch known as the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Salt flat racer