Jim hall chaparral biography
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No, I didn’t make that up:
But it’s the images of the people that add flavor and texture to the book. Because the Plymouth Road Runner might have had a cute Road Runner decal but the ur Road Runner came out of Midland Texas. Texas Legend is, of course, “The Official Biography” of Jim Hall and I wondered how, or even if, this potentially choppy water would be navigated.
1937) was simply not interested in blowing his own horn.
To understand Hall, the author convincingly argues, you need first to understand that Hall identified as a Texan more than an American. .“Recollections may vary”?
This is a terrific book about a relatively unsung genius of motorsport and I recommend it without reservation.
That he was a good enough driver to compete successfully in Formula One, and that although Chaparral was an immensely influential race car builder, the fact that the last one is called the 2K means there isn’t even half an alphabet’s worth of cars from Rattlesnake Raceway, Texas. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Texas Legend: Jim Hall and his Chaparrals
“There’s Always a Better Way.” The Official Biography
by George Levy
“So imagine the effect when into this scene strides this straight-backed, tight-lipped Stetson-wearing Texan who carries himself like an astronaut, commanding a series of cars so advanced they look like they came not from Porsche or Ferrari, but from the NASA Space Center.
Jim Hall made us proud to be Americans.
The Ford vFerrari film introduced a whole new audience to the sports car wars of the Sixties, but how many new fans are aware that it was not the GT40 Mk 2 that first vanquished the European aristocracy from Maranello and Stuttgart, but the Chaparral 2D at the Nürburgring 1000km in June 1966?
The book has nearly 500 photographs, as befits this most photogenic of marques.
A bit of sneaky sloganeering.
We learn from this wonderfully researched book how the Chaparral ethos was the understanding of aerodynamics and the exploitation of downforce. Hall had a physicist’s understanding of airflow but also a visionary spark which illuminated the way forward, from the relatively crude air dam (or splitter in modern parlance) on the Chaparral 2 to the teardrop 2H and the simply astonishing Can Am 2J fan car.
He came from a formidably tough, smart and entrepreneurial family, and the boy grew up fast, partly through choice— he married Nancy Fishback at 17—and partly through tragedy—he lost most of his family in a British Columbian air crash six months later. Composites construction, aerodynamic downforce, ground effect, and semi-automatic race car transmissions all had their genesis in the race shop located in the hot, arid plains of West Texas.
And younger readers, especially here in the UK, will come to understand just how Anglo- and Euro-centric the domestic motorsport press (lower and upper case) has been in their GOAT selections. He began his journalism career in 1980 at Autoweek, where he rose to editor at 27. But Jim Hall exemplifies the message of Mark 10: 32–34, which is to say he remains a prophet without the honor he undoubtedly deserves.
I loved the b/w imagery of this band of tough guys—square jawed, crew-cut Texan racers epitomizing conservative American values and aesthetics. Beep Beep!
The book has an extraordinarily good Index.
The Official Biography by George Levy
The highly anticipated release of George Levy’s extensively researched 500 page official biography of Jim Hall and Chaparral cars has been confirmed for July 9, 2024.
Other significant names, all featured in the book, were Jim Hall’s wife Sandy and son Jim Hall II, plus team members Wesley Sweet, Rodney Rogers, Jere Barnes, Jay Miller and Paul Parker.
Jim and George signed copies of the book for the assembled guests. It was a treasure trove of delights, from Ferrari P4 to Eagle-Weslake on track, and from Lamborghini Marzal to Alfa Romeo 33 on the street.
The book contains plenty of Bob’s racing photos of Jim in action, plus the iconic photo that won him the Pulitzer Prize, capturing the moment when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald two days after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.
Johnny Rutherford (left) and Jim Hall II flank the Texas Legend.
Jim Hall II demonstrated the Chaparral 2D, the car that won the 1966 Nürburgring 1,000Km, the first victory by an American car in a major European road race in four decades – and before Ford finally won Le Mans.
George and Jim signed copies of the book.
Chaparrals on permanent display at the Petroleum Museum include the fabled 2J ‘sucker car’ that pioneered ground effects in the Can-Am series of 1970.
Jim addresses his audience, with Ed Welburn (cream shirt) and Johnny Rutherford (red shirt) in the foreground.
Jim Hall with Judy Stropus, who looks after Evro’s US marketing and is a long-time friend of Jim and his wife Sandy.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Bob Jackson joins George Levy for a shot taken by ex-Chaparral crew member and acclaimed aviation photographer Jay Miller.
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JIM HALL TELLS HIS STORY
“TEXAS LEGEND: Jim Hall and his Chaparrals,” by George Levy, with Jim Hall, is now available.