ISKY, a new 70-minute documentary from director Cheyanne Kane, tells the story of Ed “Isky” Iskenderian, the legendary camshaft grinder whose products powered dry lakes racers, Bonneville record-setters, and Top Fuel dragsters, and whose Don Garlits partnership helped invent modern sports sponsorship. Built from hundreds of hours of interviews with Mr. Iskenderian, who died in February 2026 at 104, the film is now available for pre-order.
For hot rod and motor racing enthusiasts, the name “Isky” stands for one of the pioneers of American car culture. The choice of early racers on circle tracks, California’s dry lakes, the Bonneville Salt Flats, and the dragstrips where the “Camshaft Wars” played out in the wildly popular Gas classes, Ed “Isky” Iskenderian’s camshafts gave racers an edge over the competition.
A new film directed by Cheyanne Kane documents his life, drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews and time spent with the man known as “The Camfather.” Iskenderian died on February 4, 2026, at the age of 104, which makes ISKY the fullest account of his story told while he was still here to tell it himself.
The film centers on Iskenderian’s work across hot rodding, drag racing, land speed racing, and NASCAR, and on the cultural shift in post-WWII America that came with it. His camshafts turned up under the hoods of record-setters and champions alike, among them Mickey Thompson’s Bonneville streamliners and the workshops of Dan Gurney, who was the only American to win a Formula 1 World Championship race in a car of his own construction. A pioneer and engineering visionary, Iskenderian is widely and rightly considered one of the most influential figures in the history of American automotive performance engineering. His cigar and his grin are still recognized worldwide.
His legacy still shapes international motorsports and automotive culture. His advertising partnership with drag racing icon Don Garlits established the model for modern corporate sports sponsorship. He was also a founding member of SEMA in 1963 and its first president, the last of that founding group to remain with us.
Iskenderian’s life embodies the spirit of American ingenuity. He transformed the science of camshaft design, and in doing so, helped transform a grassroots garage and shadetree hobby into a multibillion-dollar industry that reaches every corner of the country.
Thanks to his enthusiasm, his curiosity and his knack for promotion, Iskenderian helped turn a fragmented pastime into a recognized profession. Under his watch, racers, builders and manufacturers shared a national stage for the first time. What everyone who met him remembers, though, is smaller than any of that: he answered the phone, he explained what he knew, and he never made a visitor feel like a customer.
Director Cheyanne Kane puts it this way: “This movie is a tribute to all the pioneers who paved the way for generations of automotive enthusiasts, reminding us that the road to greatness is paved with determination, creativity, curiosity, and a generous desire to always give back!” ISKY runs 70 minutes and is available now for pre-order. Watch on Apple TV
Learn more about Isky and the making of this film in a recent interview with Cheyanne Kane on the Gran Touring Motorsports Podcast:
Article: https://www.gtmotorsports.org/isky-the-camfathers-legacy-through-cheyanne-kanes-lens/
Podcast Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7wYX3ZNcEKjqfw5reujhzD
Watch the ISKY Trailer here:
https://youtu.be/kZsHDd0xd1U?si=vPRCisHXsggf2CJE
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