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78-540: The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variety of unique car body designs and powerful engine installations. Notable among these were Jim Hall 's Chaparrals and entries with over 1,000 horsepower . Can-Am started out as a race series for Group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada ( Can ) and four races in the United States of America ( Am ). The series

156-574: A Shelby Can-Am series was created using a production line of Sports bodied cars designed by Carroll Shelby powered by a 3.3 litre Dodge V6. The series ran for five years before it was dropped by the SCCA. A large number of cars were relocated to South Africa and ran from 2000 onwards. The name was once again revived in 1998, when the United States Road Racing Championship broke away from IMSA. Their top prototype class

234-509: A TV commercial. He was an even bigger presence in homes across the United States thanks to a groundbreaking deal with Cox Models , a Santa Ana, California based slot car manufacturer. Cox licensed the rights to reproduce Chaparral cars at the height of the slot car craze. According to slot car expert Philippe de Lespinay, the “Jim Hall Authorized” Cox Chaparrals were the most popular 1/24-scale slot cars of all time. So enthralled were American kids with Hall and his cars that when they created

312-511: A car, it increases the traction and allows it to corner at a much faster speed than it did before,” says Hall. "So that’s really what Chaparral did over a period of years in various ways, and that one idea had a tremendous effect on the future of auto racing.” The first of the true Jim Hall Chaparrals was built in Midland, Texas during 1962 and 1963. At the same time Colin Chapman was building

390-580: A closed-course world-speed record of 221 mph (average)(356 km/h) at the Talladega Superspeedway (then called the "Alabama International Motor Speedway"). It was capable of 240 mph (386 km/h) on the straights. Jim Hall 's Chaparrals were very innovative, following his success in the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). The 2 series Chaparrals (built and engineered with

468-562: A driver and helped the dealership sell cars. Shelby would put Hall in one of the new racers and often as not, Hall would go out and win in it. Shelby would then brag that if a rookie could win in it, it must be a pretty outstanding piece of machinery. Soon, however, fans across the Southwest started to recognize that Hall was one of the most promising young drivers on the American racing scene. Hall's abilities drew international attention at

546-403: A gas pedal and a brake pedal, the driver's left foot was available to activate the “downforce” pedal. “With the wing,” said Chaparral driver Phil Hill, “you could out-brake everybody, you could out-corner everybody, [and] you could drive under them. It really did feel like it had freak roadholding.” The 2E was demonstrably the fastest car of the inaugural Can-Am season but reliability issues with

624-506: A high degree of covert support from Chevrolet 's research and development division) were leaders in the application of aerodynamics to race cars culminating with the introduction of the 2E in 1966, the first of the high wing race cars. The 2E was a defining design, and the 2G was a development of that basic design. The FIA banned movable aerodynamic devices and Chaparral responded with the 2H 1969. The 2H broke new ground, seeking to reduce drag but did not achieve much success. The 2J that followed

702-428: A number of other drivers, but the works Porsche effort with a turbocharged flat-12 engines and a high development budget meant that they could not keep up with the 917. Although private McLarens continued in the series, the works team withdrew to concentrate on Formula One (and USAC, for several years). Team McLaren went on to become a several time F1 champion and is still a part of that series. The Porsche 908 spyder

780-436: The 1960 United States Grand Prix at Riverside . Driving his own past-its-prime Lotus-Climax, he ran a surprising fifth for much of the race until the differential started to give way a few laps from the end. Of Hall's run, Competition Press (now Autoweek ) wrote, “It looks as if Texas has another international caliber driver ready to take Carroll Shelby’s place now that Shelby has announced his retirement.” At Riverside, Hall

858-413: The 1973 championship . Porsche's dominance was such that engine rules were changed to try to reduce the lack of competition for one marque by enforcing a fuel-consumption rule for 1974. This kind of alteration of rules to promote equality is not unknown in other forms of American motorsport. The category that the car had been created for and competed in was discontinued and in 1975 Donohue drove this car to

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936-675: The California Institute of Technology , he began racing in local sports car events. After a promised job at General Motors to work on the Corvette failed to materialize due to a late ‘50s U.S. recession, he became involved with older brother Dick in Carroll Shelby Sport Cars in Dallas, the area’s leading importer of European road and race vehicles. This experience played a crucial role in his development as

1014-590: The Nürburgring , his first time at the fabled track. While he was in Europe, work continued on the 2A at the small complex in Midland that he co-owned with partner Hap Sharp. Midland was far away from established racing infrastructure but next to the aptly named Rattlesnake Raceway that Hall and Sharp used as a proving ground. Once it was finished, it proved a revelation. Hall put it on the pole at its first race,

1092-477: The oil crisis , and dwindling support and interest led to the series being canceled and the last scheduled race of the 1974 season not being run. The Can-Am name still held enough drawing power to lead SCCA to introduce a revised Can-Am series in 1977 based on a closed-wheel version of the rules of the recently canceled Formula A/5000 series. This grew steadily in status, particularly during the USAC/CART wars of

1170-503: The 1962 season-ending Mexican Grand Prix , led the British Racing Partnership (BRP) Formula 1 team to offer him a seat for the 1963 season. Hall accepted the offer, but neither the team nor Hall realized that BRP, which had scored wins in previous seasons, was on the verge of decline. Nevertheless, Hall managed to accumulate three World Championship points. His best finish was fifth in the 1963 German Grand Prix at

1248-522: The 1964 USRRC title outright and the unlimited class title in 1965. The team had generated even bigger headlines earlier in the year at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Hall and Sharp put their Chaparral 2A on pole an astonishing 9 seconds faster than reigning World Champion John Surtees had managed the previous year in the top factory Ferrari. Still, few expected the Chaparrals to be able to survive the onslaught of factory-supported Fords and Ferraris, much less

1326-544: The 1964 and 1965 seasons, Hall and Sharp (and fill-in Penske, after Hall was injured in an accident at Mosport ) dominated American sports car racing in their Chaparral 2As and later 2Cs (there was no Chaparral 2B, to avoid confusion with a General Motors-designed Corvette GS IIB sports racing concept) to a degree no one has before or since. In 1965 alone, in 22 starts in major races against topnotch international competition, Chaparrals collected 16 wins and 16 fastest laps. Hall won

1404-411: The 1970 Riverside Can-Am the 2J qualified more than two seconds faster than the championship-winning McLaren M8D. The 2J was also the first car equipped with vacuum-protecting “skirts,” another innovation later adopted by Formula 1. Although it was quickly banned, the 2J “vacuum cleaner” concept was copied eight years later by Brabham Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray who figured out a way to circumvent

1482-583: The 1981 season, Hall remained in Indy car racing off and on with store-bought Lola and Reynard chassis and collected more wins and high finishes with a variety of drivers, including John Andretti and Gil de Ferran . Hall retired from the sport after the 1996 campaign. During the 1960s, Hall's popularity transcended the automotive enthusiast press, where he and his cars were regular subjects. Both Sports Illustrated and Newsweek did cover stories. Shell featured him in their advertising. Coca-Cola put him in

1560-465: The 2009 American Le Mans Series , former driver Gil de Ferran painted his Acura ARX-02a to resemble a Chaparral in tribute to Hall, complete with Hall's race number, 66. In storybook fashion, de Ferran put the car on pole and won the race with co-driver and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud . At the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show General Motors debuted the Chaparral 2X, a futuristic homage to

1638-544: The British McLarens and Lolas. The car made extensive use of titanium in its chassis and suspension, and Bryant experimented with aerodynamics and with early use of carbon-fibre to reduce weight. Although the car was quick it did not achieve consistent success; problems with the team's funding saw Bryant move on to Don Nichols' UOP -sponsored Shadow team. The Shadow marque had made its debut with an astonishing car with tiny wheels and radiators mounted on top of

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1716-864: The Can-Am competitors occasionally went over to race against them). SCCA sports car racing was becoming more popular with European constructors and drivers, and the United States Road Racing Championship for large-capacity sports racers eventually gave rise to the Group 7 Can-Am series. There was good prize and appearance money and plenty of trade backing; the series was lucrative for its competitors but resulted, by its end, in truly outrageous cars with well over 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) (the Porsche team claimed 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) for its 917/30 in qualifying trim), wings, active downforce generation, very light weight and unheard of speeds. Similar Group 7 cars ran in

1794-406: The Can-Am drivers and teams continued to race there. F5000's reign lasted for only two years, with a second generation of Can-Am following. This was a fundamentally different series based initially on converted F5000 cars with closed-wheel bodies. There was also a two-liter class based on Formula Two chassis. The second iteration of Can-Am faded away as IMSA and CART racing became more popular in

1872-564: The Chaparral 2A slot car, Cox had the sculptor model the driver's face to look like Hall. An entire wing of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland is devoted to Hall and the Chaparral story, and includes seven of the restored race cars: a 2A , 2D , 2E , 2F , 2H, 2J , and 2K . Each of the cars is driven periodically to maintain them in working condition and to provide the public a chance to see them in action. Hall and his cars have been featured at most of

1950-488: The Chaparral 2D coupe — won the 1966 Nürburgring 1000 kilometers . The second, the more angular Chaparral 2F , which featured a wing and nose duct similar to the 2E, captured the BOAC International 500 at Brands Hatch . There, drivers Phil Hill and Mike Spence led home a Ferrari 330 P4 driven by Grand Prix aces Jackie Stewart and Chris Amon . “I’m really proud that we were able to pull off those wins at

2028-551: The Chaparral ethos, “developed exclusively for fans of the PlayStation® 3 racing game, Gran Turismo® 6 .” The concept was emblazoned with Hall's racing number and according to the game maker, captured “the spirit of Jim Hall’s amazing legacy of motorsports innovation.” ( key ) ( key ) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) * Joint fastest lap. Jim Hall (racing driver) Too Many Requests If you report this error to

2106-565: The European Interserie series from 1970 on, but this was much lower-key than the Can-Am. On-track, the series was initially dominated by Lola , followed by a period in which it became known as the " Bruce and Denny show", the works McLaren team dominated for five consecutive seasons (1967-1971) until the Porsche 917 was perfected and became almost unbeatable in 1972 and 1973. After Porsche 's withdrawal, Shadow dominated

2184-528: The Indianapolis 500, Pocono 500 , and California 500 . The successes in the long-distance races hid the shortcomings of the Lola chassis, so Hall decided to take one last stab at car building. He commissioned up-and-coming designer John Barnard to realize his vision of a new kind of Indy car based on the ground effect principle introduced on Colin Chapman's Lotus 78 . The resulting Chaparral 2K, nicknamed

2262-506: The McLaren team that spearheaded the effort to ban the 2J, said, “It was the most stupid thing we ever did, and it was the first major step we took toward killing off the greatest road racing series ever conceived.” After Hall had been away from the sport for several years, Lola importer Carl Haas approached him with a proposition: Let's go Indy car racing. Haas would provide the sponsors and cars (Lolas), Hall could concentrate on running

2340-515: The Nürburgring and at Brands Hatch,” Hall told Motor Sport years later. “That was a really fun deal. Somebody told me after we won at the Nürburgring that it was the first American car to win a major European road race in 40 years and I thought, ‘Wow!’” A sign of the now worldwide respect for Hall’s driving talent came in May of 1968 when Spence was killed at Indy in a freak practice accident at

2418-458: The October, 1963 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix , over an international-class field that included soon-to-be F1 champions Jim Clark , Graham Hill , and John Surtees , and future Motorsports Hall of Fame of America legends Dan Gurney , A. J. Foyt , Roger Penske , Lloyd Ruby , Parnelli Jones , Rodger Ward , and Richie Ginther . Hall led easily until sidelined by an electrical fire. During

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2496-699: The US), Don Beresford, Alec Greaves, Vince Higgins, and Roger Bailey (UK), Tony Attard (Australia), Cary Taylor, Jimmy Stone, Chris Charles, Colin Beanland, Alan McCall, and Alistair Caldwell (NZ). The M6 series used a full aluminum monocoque design with no uncommon features but, for the times, there was an uncommon attention to detail in preparation by the team members. The M6 series of cars were powered by Chevy "mouse-motor" small-block V8s built by Al Bartz Engines in Van Nuys, California. They were models of reliability. This

2574-656: The car had two seats, bodywork enclosing the wheels, and met basic safety standards, it was allowed. Group 7 had arisen as a category for non-homologated sports car "specials" in Europe and, for a while in the 1960s, Group 7 racing was popular in the United Kingdom as well as a class in hillclimb racing in Europe. Group 7 cars were designed more for short-distance sprints than for endurance racing . Some Group 7 cars were also built in Japan by Nissan and Toyota , but these did not compete outside their homeland (though some of

2652-563: The championship. For 1972 the 917/10K with a turbocharged 900 horsepower five-litre flat-12 was introduced. Prepared by Roger Penske and driven by Mark Donohue and George Follmer these cars won six of the nine races. In 1972 Porsche introduced an even more powerful car, the 917/30KL. Nicknamed the "Turbopanzer" this car was seen as a monster. With 1,100 or 1,580 horsepower (820/1161 kW in race or qualifying trim) available from its 5.4 litre flat-12 and weighing 1,800 lb (816 kg) with better downforce this car won six of eight races in

2730-415: The desert. Hall survived, but his knees in particular were badly damaged. It was six months before he could walk again. He made a brief return to racing during the 1970 Trans-Am season in his team's own works Camaro effort, but while the speed was still there for laps at a time, he could no longer maintain his previous pace over a race distance. That same year Hall introduced his final Can-Am challenger,

2808-456: The drivers who launched their careers in the revived Can-Am series. Can-Am was the birthplace and proving ground for what, at the time, was cutting-edge technology. Can-Am cars were among the first race cars to use sport wings, effective turbocharging , ground-effect aerodynamics, and aerospace materials like titanium. This led to the eventual downfall of the original series when costs got prohibitive. However during its height, Can-Am cars were at

2886-409: The early 1980s but remained active until 1987. Can-Am remains a well-remembered form of racing due to its popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s, the limited number of regulations allowing extremely fast and innovative cars and the lineup of talented drivers. Can-Am cars remain popular in historic racing today. Notable drivers in the original Can-Am series included virtually every acclaimed driver of

2964-587: The early 80s but as the CART Indycar series and IMSA 's GTP championship grew in stature it faded. In 1987 the series changed as Indycars started to become a source of cars. The SCCA took away the Can-Am name but the series continued as the Can-Am Teams Thunder Cars Championship. After a single year the teams took the sports bodies off and evolved into American Indycar Series . In 1991, after 18 months of development,

3042-477: The entire year with its best finish a fourth at Watkins Glen . While McLaren and Porsche dominated the series for most of its existence, other vehicles also appeared. Well-established European manufacturers like Lotus , CRD , in the form of their Merlyn Mk8 Chevrolet, Ferrari and BRM , appeared at various times with limited success, while March tried to get a share of the lucrative market in 1970–71, but could not establish themselves. Ford also flitted across

3120-496: The first Can-Am championship in 1966. Lola continued to experiment with new designs versus McLaren which refined the design each year. The 1971 Lola T260 had some success with Jackie Stewart taking two victories. In 1972 a radical new design, the Lola T310, made its appearance. The T310 was the longest and widest Can-Am car of the era versus the short stubby T260. The T310 was delivered late and suffered handling problems

3198-504: The first monocoque Formula 1 car, Hall was developing a monocoque sports racer of his own design made of composites. He and partner Hap Sharp had scouted the nation's leading aerospace companies for the latest advances in construction techniques. At General Dynamics they met Andy Green, who was designing fiberglass engine fairings for the Convair B-58 Hustler , the world's first supersonic bomber. They hired Green to apply

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3276-523: The forefront of racing technology and were frequently as fast as or even faster around laps of certain circuits than the contemporary Formula One cars. Noted constructors in the Can-Am series include McLaren, Chaparral , Lola, BRM , Shadow and Porsche. McLaren cars were specially designed race cars. The Can-Am cars were developments of the sports cars which were introduced in 1964 for the North American sports car races. The team works car for 1964

3354-517: The greatest American racing drivers of his generation, capturing consecutive United States Road Racing Championships (1964, 1965), two Road America 500s (1962, 1964), two Watkins Glen Grands Prix for sports cars (1964, 1965), the 1965 Canadian Grand Prix for sports cars, the 1965 Pacific Northwest Grand Prix, and scoring a massive upset at the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring over a contingent of factory-backed Ford GTs , Shelby Daytona Coupes, and Ferrari entries. If anything Hall's accomplishments behind

3432-512: The last season before Can-Am faded away to be replaced by Formula 5000 . Racing was rarely close—one marque was usually dominant—but the noise and spectacle of the cars made the series highly popular. The energy crisis and the increased cost of competing in Can-Am meant that the series folded after the relatively lackluster 1974 season; the single-seater Formula 5000 series became the leading road-racing series in North America and many of

3510-404: The late 1960s and early 1970s. Jim Hall , Mark Donohue , Mario Andretti , Parnelli Jones , George Follmer , Dan Gurney , Phil Hill , Denny Hulme , Jacky Ickx , Bruce McLaren , Jackie Oliver , Peter Revson , John Surtees , and Charlie Kemp all drove Can-Am cars competitively and were successful, winning races and championship titles. Al Holbert , Alan Jones and Al Unser Jr. are among

3588-429: The late 70s and early 80s, and attracted some top road-racing teams and drivers and a range of vehicles including specials based on rebodied single seaters (particularly Lola F5000s) and also bespoke cars from constructors like March as well as smaller manufacturers. To broaden the appeal of the series a 2L class was introduced for the last several years—cars often being derived from F2/Formula Atlantic. The series peaked in

3666-487: The major concours and vintage racing events. He was named grand marshal of the 2001 Brian Redman International Challenge at Road America, and Hall and his Chaparrals were featured at the 2003 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and 2005 Monterey Historic Automobile Races . Internationally, Hall and his Chaparrals are regular invitees at the Goodwood Festival of Speed . At the season-ending Laguna Seca round of

3744-514: The most influential of Hall's designs was the Chaparral 2E prepared for the following year's inaugural season of Canadian-American Challenge Cup competition. The Chaparral 2E featured side-mounted radiators, a semi-automatic gearbox and other innovations, but what people noticed most was the massive articulated wing mounted on pillars that soared several feet above the rear deck. Said fellow competitor, broadcaster and racing historian Sam Posey , “When those cars arrived on their double-axle trailers in

3822-533: The new design kept the team from converting its many poles and fastest laps into victories. The 2E missed the first of the season's six races because the wing wasn't yet ready, and won only one of the remaining five, with Hill and Hall finishing 1–2 at the Laguna Seca round where the cars performed flawlessly. That same year the small team in Midland converted two of the older chassis for use in endurance racing's World Sportscar Championship. The first iteration —

3900-413: The paddock at Bridgehampton, people just stopped everything and their jaws dropped down on the ground. Nothing in the world existed like that. The two cars went out and the world changed and we were part of it." Hall had innovated movable aerodynamic devices with a low-mounted wing on the back of the Chaparral 2C. The 2C won major races, but the wing was deployed more as an adjustable spoiler and worked on

3978-440: The rear of the car only, upsetting the car's balance at the same time it was providing crucial downforce. For the 2E, Hall used a symmetrical wing that would create minimal drag in the neutral position, but substantial downforce when tilted downward in the turns. To balance the effect, the 2E also had an adjustable duct in the nose. Both devices were connected to a pedal in the cockpit. Because the semi-automatic Chaparrals only needed

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4056-407: The rear wing designed by Trevor Harris; this was unsuccessful, and more conventional cars designed by Bryant replaced them; Bryant was sidelined when Shadow moved into Formula One but after his departure, turbocharged Shadows came to dominate as Porsche and McLaren faded from the scene. The last year for the original Can-Am championship was 1974. Spiraling costs, a recession in North America following

4134-415: The rules. The resulting Brabham BT46B won the only race in which it was entered, the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix , proving significantly faster than Colin Chapman's ground effect-tunneled Lotus 79 , which secured that year's championship. The development of downforce, from spoilers on his Chaparral 2A to wings movable and otherwise on his Chaparral 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F , 2G, and 2H to the suction system on his 2J,

4212-492: The same advanced fiberglass composite technology to create the first successful full composite racecar monocoque. The advantages of the plastic chassis were twofold: it was much more rigid than traditional chassis, which greatly aided handling, and lighter, aiding performance in all dimensions. When Hall met people from Chevrolet Research & Development, GM's own internal skunkworks, at the 1962 June Sprints at Road America, they picked each other's brains for new ideas. One result

4290-559: The same level of downforce as the huge wings of previous vehicles, without the drag. Although far too mechanically complex to survive in racing environments, the theory was sound, and would appear in Formula One a few years later in the BT46B "Fan Car" of 1978. The Lola T70, T160-165, T220, T260, and T310 were campaigned by the factory and various customers, and were primarily Chevy powered. The Lola T70 driven by John Surtees won

4368-562: The scene with a number of unsuccessful cars based on the GT40 and its successors. American specialist marques like McKee, Genie and Caldwell competed, alongside exotica like the astonishing four-engined Macs-It special. British-born mechanic and engineer Peter Bryant designed the Ti22 (occasionally known as the Autocoast after one of the team's major backers) as an American-built challenger to

4446-522: The second half of the 20th century has had more enduring influence. Hall pioneered wings, movable aerodynamic devices, side-mounted radiators, semi-automatic transmissions , and composite monocoque chassis structures, all of them innovations later adopted by and still present in every Formula 1 car. He was one of the first to recognize and demonstrate the performance benefits of torsional rigidity . The chassis of his Chaparral 2 — it later became known as 2A to distinguish it from subsequent Chaparrals —

4524-483: The steering wheel, at all times concentrating entirely on exact placing of the car in a turn and just when and how much to brake. Another value is the reliability it induces in other components. It is not possible to over-rev the engine or damage the drive train with shock loads from mismatched shifts and other poor driving techniques.” The car that came to be known as the Chaparral 2A might have been completed sooner, but another outstanding driving performance, this time at

4602-517: The suction ground effect Chaparral 2J, which was comprehensively faster than every other car in the series. Even though the SCCA had declared it legal before and after the season, other teams lobbied against it and finally persuaded the FIA , the worldwide sanctioning body, to ban it. Disgusted, Hall left the series and quit racing as a whole. Years later, Can-Am's all-time winning driver Denny Hulme , part of

4680-493: The team. That appealed to Hall and the pair formed Haas-Hall Racing. When the money to go to Indy didn't materialize, they switched to the SCCA Formula 5000 open-wheel series. Haas-Hall racing was virtually unstoppable throughout the decade, winning three consecutive F5000 titles with Brian Redman at the wheel until the series evolved into the second-generation Can-Am, whereupon the team won four more championships. Between

4758-406: The two series, from 1974 through 1980, the partnership collected seven consecutive series titles. Near the end of the run, the sponsorship to go to Indy did materialize, and Hall began to focus on that arena. The results again were immediate. In 1978, the team's initial season of Indy car competition, it became the first and still only team to capture Indy car racing's Triple Crown, with victories at

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4836-434: The wear and tear of 12 hours of racing on the punishing Sebring runway course. Ford had seven cars, driven by the likes of Dan Gurney, Ken Miles , Bruce McLaren , Richie Ginther, and Phil Hill . The lead Ferrari was driven by endurance racing specialist Pedro Rodriguez and 1962 World Champion Graham Hill. Still, Hall's Chaparral prevailed, overcoming the world's best endurance racers and monsoon-like conditions. Probably

4914-632: The wheel have been overshadowed by his pivotal contributions to race car design through his series of Chaparral sports racing and Indy cars. Hall's cars won in every series in which they competed: USRRC, Can-Am , Trans-Am , Formula 5000 , World Sportscar Championship , Autoweek Championship, Canadian Sports Car Championship, and the Indianapolis 500 . Hall was born in Abilene and raised in Colorado and New Mexico . While studying engineering at

4992-482: The wheel of one of Chapman’s revolutionary Lotus 56 turbine cars. The original three drivers nominated for the race were a virtual “super team:” two-time World Champion Jim Clark, soon-to-be two-time World Champion Graham Hill and eventual three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart. After both Clark and his replacement, Spence, were killed and Stewart injured in separate accidents, the team turned to Hall, even though he had never driven an Indy car before. Hall declined. It

5070-468: The “Yellow Submarine” thanks to sponsor Pennzoil's brand colors, changed the face of Indy car racing. The first Indy “tunnel car” dominated the 1979 Indianapolis 500 in Al Unser's hands until sidelined by a transmission issue. It came back the following year and not only won the 500, but captured the 1980 CART PPG Indy Car World Series championship as well with Johnny Rutherford at the helm. After

5148-527: Was approached by California car builders Troutman and Barnes who were seeking funding for a new front-mid-engined, two-seat road racer. Hall backed the project and named the vehicle Chaparral. He had success with the Chaparral 1 , winning the Road America 500 and other races. Almost as soon as it was completed, Hall began thinking of a successor vehicle he would build himself. Possibly no designer from

5226-488: Was arguably Hall's single greatest contribution to the sport and the one most copied. In 1979, Hall also became the first to bring ground effect tunnels to IndyCar racing with his groundbreaking Chaparral 2K . Today, because of Hall, downforce is part of the design brief for every major form of racing car — Formula 1, IndyCar, Le Mans , NHRA , NASCAR , World Rally Championship cars, and more — and most high-performance road cars. "When you put an aerodynamic downforce on

5304-423: Was by design about four times stiffer than those of the leading sports cars of the day. Hall also introduced the world's first constant downforce racecar, the 1970 Chaparral 2J , which used a snowmobile engine to power two fans to reduce the air pressure between the bottom of the car and the road regardless of vehicle speed. (Both wings and ground effect tunnels generate downforce that varies with vehicle speed.) At

5382-422: Was considered very "multinational" for the times and consisted of team owner and leader Bruce McLaren, fellow New Zealander Chris Amon and another "kiwi", the 1967 Formula One world champion, Denny Hulme, team manager Teddy Mayer, mechanics Tyler Alexander, Gary Knutson, Lee Muir, George Bolthoff, Frank Zimmerman, Tom Anderson, Alan Anderson, David Dunlap, Leo Beattie, Donny Ray Everett, and Haig Alltounian (all from

5460-518: Was even a one-two-three finish at the Michigan International Speedway on September 28, 1969: McLaren first, Hulme second, and Gurney third. Nine months later, Bruce McLaren lost his life, on June 2, 1970, at Goodwood when the rear bodywork of his prototype M8D detached during testing resulting in a completely uncontrollable car and a fatal high-speed crash. Team McLaren continued to succeed in Can-Am after Bruce's death with

5538-535: Was followed in 1968 by the M8A, a new design based around the Chevy big-block V8 "rat motor" as a stressed member of the chassis. McLaren went "in house" with their engine shop in 1969. The M8B, M8C, M8D and M20C were developments of that aluminum monocoque chassis. McLaren so dominated the 1967-1971 seasons that Can-Am was often called the "Bruce and Denny show" after the drivers who very often finished first and second. There

5616-413: Was in another development of the 2E, called 2G, that Hall's driving career came to a premature end. At 1968's season-ending Las Vegas Can-Am, Hall was about to unlap himself after an unscheduled pit stop from second-place man Lothar Motschenbacher when the latter's McLaren suffered a catastrophic suspension failure. Hall's Chaparral leap-frogged the stricken McLaren at over 100 MPH and came crashing down in

5694-590: Was initially sponsored by Johnson Wax . The series was governed by rules called out under the FIA Group 7 category with unrestricted engine capacity and few other technical restrictions. The Group 7 category was essentially a Formula Libre for sports cars; the regulations were minimal and permitted unlimited engine sizes (and allowed turbocharging and supercharging ), virtually unrestricted aerodynamics, and were as close as any major international racing series ever got to have an "anything goes" policy. As long as

5772-505: Was named Can-Am, but the series would fold before the end of 1999 before being replaced by the Grand American Road Racing Championship . The Can-Am name would not be retained in the new series. Jim Hall (race car driver) James Ellis Hall (born July 23, 1935) is a retired American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner. While he is best known as a car constructor, he was one of

5850-411: Was perhaps the ultimate example of what Group 7 rules could allow in a racing car. It was a twin-engined car, with the by-then usual big-block Chevrolet engine providing the driving force, and a tiny snowmobile engine powering a pair of fans at the back of the car. These fans, combined with the movable Lexan "skirts" around the bottom of the car created a vacuum underneath the car, effectively providing

5928-654: Was the M1. For 1965 the M1A prototype was the team car and bases for the Elva customer M1A cars. In late 1965 the M1b(mk2) was the factory car in 1966 with Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon as drivers. In 1967, specifically for the Can-Am series, the McLaren team introduced a new model, the M6A . The McLaren M6A also introduced what was to become the trademark orange color for the team. The McLaren team

6006-465: Was the adoption of a semi-automatic “torque converter” gearbox. Today, semi-automatic gearboxes are commonplace in racing, but when Hall introduced them — and won with them — onlookers and rivals alike were mystified. Here again Hall's engineering background came into play. “Not only is there literally less work to do,” Hall explained in an article he wrote for Autocar in 1965, “we can keep both hands on

6084-457: Was used in Can-Am, but was underpowered (350 hp) and mainly used by underfunded teams. It did win the 1970 Road Atlanta race, when the more powerful cars fell out. The 917PA, a spyder version of the 917K Le Mans car, was raced, but its normally aspirated flat-12 was underpowered (530 hp). In 1971 the 917/10 was introduced. This was not turbocharged, but was lighter and had cleaner body work, and Jo Siffert managed to finish fourth in

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