Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

The Chaparral Gallery at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland Texas is so fabulous that it deserved a post all its own!

Chaparral 2K Indy Car

GS 11B Experimental Corvette

When strolling through the different galleries of the Petroleum Museum we knew that our favorite part would be the final exhibit – The Chaparral Gallery. Steve, Mack, Sandee and I are Corvette fanatics. We’ve all owned Corvettes and been members of a Corvette Club, which is one more thing that the 4 of us have in common. And that’s why we saved the best for last.

The Chaparral Gallery is dedicated to engineering and telling the story of the Chaparrals. Display here are 6 os Jim Hall’s historic Chaparral Road Racers and the 1980 Indy 500 Champion “Yellow Submarine”. The focus in this Transportation Wing is to inspire future generations of engineers, as well as sharing the story behind these innovative machines with thousands of Chaparral and car racing enthusiasts, like us.

Jim Hall

Jim Hall portrait, old Coke machine and that fabulous table made from a racing tire.

James Ellis Hall, now retired, is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner. He was one of the greatest American racing drivers of his time.

Over sixty years ago, in 1962, Jim Hall and Hap Sharp formed a small racing team in Midland, Texas, which they named Chaparral Cars for the Spanish word for roadrunner, a fast running ground cuckoo that’s also known as a chaparral bird.With his innovations in the science of aerodynamics, the field was finally appreciated by automobile designers. Jim Hall revolutionized the sport with his Chaparral Racing Cars.

The first Chaparrals

White and black race car with pipes sticking up behind the cockpit at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

The car that started it all – the 1st Chaparral 2

Front view of a white and black racing car at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Front view of that gorgeous, sexy Chaparral 2

The first of these true Jim Hall Chaparrals was built in Midland, Texas during 1962 and 1963. These cars were raced from 1963 through 1970.And the legacy continues to this day.

2J sports prototype race car

White racing car with black numbers 66 at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

The very unique Chaparral 2J

Boxy rear end of this white racing car on display at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

The weird boxy design of the 2J was banned after one race

One of the most unique of the Chaparrals is the 2J sports prototype race car, designed and developed by the Hall and Sharp team. It was built by American manufacturer Chaparral and conformed to Group 7 regulations and competed in the 1970 Can-Am Championship series. But the 2J was banned due to the fact that is was so fast! “FIA officials banned the 2J at the end of the 1970 Can-Am season because the sliding polycarbonate skirts were said to have violated the “movable aerodynamic device” ban; thus ending the car’s career at its Dawn of Victory.” The Gran Turismo Chaparral 2J’s top speed was 264 mph or 426 kph!

Chaparral 2

White racing car on display at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

In front is the Chaparral 2D

White racing car with black numbers on display at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Chaparral 2F

The enclosed version of the Chaparral 2, which debuted in 1966, was designed for the World Manufacturer’s Championship race. It was for races like Daytona, Sebring and the very famous 24 hours of Le Mans in France.

White aerodynamic racing car at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Chaparral 2H

White racing car with rear wing on display at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Chaparral 2E was built for the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, now known as the Can-Am.

Jim Hall and Chaparral Cars launched the Chaparral 2K Indy Car in 1979. Indy car driver Al Unser qualified the 2K for a front row position at the Indianapolis 500 that year. It was during that race that Unser charged into the lead and remained there for 104 laps. Unfortunately transmission trouble forced him to leave the race.

Steve, behind the wheel of a white race car at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Meet racing’s newest driver Steve, in his glory! He actually had to remove the steering wheel to get into the car!!!

Mack with aviator glasses behind the wheel of a white racing car at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Cool dude, driver Mack Pitts behind the wheel of a Chaparral.

Behind the scenes

White racing car showing the engine at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

This car was in the “restricted” area that we were privileged to enter!

Jim Hall portrait, old Coke machine and that fabulous table made from a racing tire.

A Firestone tire with signatures of drivers on display as a table at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Some race car legends’ signatures on that table tire

A Firestone Indy tire with signatures of drivers on display as a table at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

More signatures on that Firestone Indy tire that was made into a table.

Charlie Proffit’s signature is in plain view on the table tire.

We had spent so much time in the Chaparral Gallery that we didn’t notice that it was almost closing time. As we were watching a couple of men consulting in a separate room of the exhibit, they, in turn, noticed our enthusiasm for the cars. Before we knew it Chaparral team members James White and Keith Doucet were involving us in their conversation. They invited us into this room filled with racing memorabilia.

Race car being worked on at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Chaparral Racing car being worked on in the very behind the scenes area we were excited to see

Ribbons and trophies on display at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum behind the scenes.

Awards, trophies and picture of the evolution of the Chaparrals

Man with white hair showing a windshield that needs repair at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Keith Doucet showing us a windshield he is repairing

Seeing the behind the scenes areas that most visitors never see is one of my favorite perks of being a writer. These two men were so friendly and genuinely wanted to share more about the fabulous Chaparrals. They even took the glass off of that unique table made from a racing tire that had been autographed by many famous race car drivers.

Mechanic garage with lift, pit and red tool chest at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Have you ever seen such a clean mechanic’s garage?

Me in front of the front section of a race car at the Chaparral Gallery Petroleum Museum

Me, loving every second of our behind the scenes tour at the Chaparral Gallery!!!

Further behind the scenes

From there, Keith escorted us to where they actually work on the cars. What a thrill! In this area there was even a lift and pit for working on the cars. I think what impressed me most about this place was how pristinely clean it was. Not what you usually see at most mechanics’ garages. Thank you so much Keith and James for showing us around!!!