Manufacturer, sponsor, pioneer, drag racer

The “Camfather” was born July 10, 1921 in Central California to Armenian immigrant parents. Young “Isky” was always curious about anything related to mechanics and technology – his first job was repairing vacuum tube radios. Like most teens, he grew up around cars, particularly fascinated by the racy sounding, lightweight “gow job” hot rods he and his buddies saw around town. Coming home to LA after his WW2 Air Force service, he befriended Ed Winfield (Class of 2011) and soon began grinding his own hot camshafts and valve gear. He ran his Model T rod at the dry lakes and became a major player in the early days of Bonneville and the NHRA. Isky sponsored and supplied his speedware to racing icons including Mickey Thompson (1990), a young Floridian named Don Garlits (1989), boat racers and the early days of NASCAR. Iskenderian Racing Cams became a major force in the performance industry, with Ed serving as SEMA’s first president. Truly among the founding fathers of going fast, his contributions to motorsport are incalculable.