The Incredible Story of Texas’ Most Controversial Race Cars

Texas has always been present in the world of racing. From Texas-born drivers, to Texas race tracks, and in this case, Texas-built cars that would forever change the world of racing. It was all thanks to Abilene's Jim Hall, the founder of the Chaparral Cars company in 1961 in Midland, Texas.

He helped build many iconic race cars, including 2 that would become banned from racing but not before forever leaving their legacy on race fans everywhere.

What was the story behind the Chaparral 2E & why was it banned?

Built in 1966, the Chaparral 2E was designed to race in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) & its most unique feature was its MASSIVE wing. (You can tell which one is the 2E, aka the one on the left)

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

While it looked absolutely silly on the outside, it provided amazing grip on the back tires which allowed it take the corners quicker with much faster braking & acceleration. The 2E was so good it won the 1966 Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway; taking home 1st and 2nd place.

However, while the car was very quick to drive, the large wing was susceptible to mechanical failures so the officials of Can-Am banned the car from racing. Today you can see it on display at the Petroleum Museum Garage in Midland.

What was the story behind the Chaparral 2J & why was it banned?

After the ban of the 2E, Jim Hall wouldn't give up building unique looking race cars. In 1970, he would built the Chaparral 2J, or as people like to call it "a dish washing machine on wheels" or the "sucker car".

Again, even though it looks VERY strange, the giant 17 inch fans in the back took the air from under the car, and forced it out the back, which helped keep the car on the track. The extra downforce also helped the car corner through the turns. While the 2J didn't win any races, it WOULD get the pole position in every race it started & record the fastest lap at the Watkins Glen speedway in its very first race on July 12, 1970.

In other words, this car was fast...very fast. Can-Am thought the fans made the car "too fast" and was banned after only 4 races. You can see the 2J & the other Chaparral cars at the Midland's Petroleum Museum Garage.

While we might not have the money to race these cars in real life, we CAN experience these cars in video games such as Forza Motorsport & Gran Turismo. (Hey it's something right?)

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