"Former Driver & Constructor" Jim Hall Born - July 23, 1935

July 23, 1935

 Jim Hall

(Photo; "Jim Hall (racer)" by Oldwizzard at English Wikipedia)

Born in Abilene, Texas, USA.

Jim is a former racecar driver and constructor. He competed in Formula One from 1960 to 1963, participating in 12 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship races. He scored three World Championship points.

Hall's special place in motorsports history came as the result of him being the "motivating force" and part owner, with Hap Sharp, of Chaparral Cars. Based in Hall's hometown of Midland, Texas, during the 1960s, in the United States Road Racing Championship, and later in the Can-Am, Chaparral cars were the most innovative cars in racing. Hall was a very early adopter of aerodynamics applied to race cars and was the leading proponent of that technology for an entire decade. He had a sabbatical in the early 1970s, racing in several SCCA Trans-Am Series races.

Hall's Chaparral Cars team came back to prominence in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series, including two wins in the Indianapolis 500 in 1978 and 1980; the latter with the first of the ground effect cars to be raced in the event. He would later turn to using off-the-shelf racecars to race in his Indycar team which was renamed Jim Hall Racing until 1996, when he retired from racing altogether.

Hall now resides in Midland, remaining active in the oil and gas business, and motorsports racing legacies.

(Photo; chaparralcars.com)
An entire wing portrays the saga of Hall and Chaparral Cars at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland. Hall was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994. Hall received the Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001.

His son, Jim Hall, Jr., resides in California and operates the Jim Hall Kart Racing School.

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