Can-Am Racing History

Chaparral built its final road racing car, the revolutionary 2J "sucker" car. This doorstop-shaped projectile used a two-cylinder snowmobile engine driving a pair of big fans that literally sucked all the air out from under the car, creating phenomenal downforce (hence the nickname). The 2J qualified on the pole in three of the four races it ran, but it had trouble each time and then was outlawed.


The closest team to McLaren was Lola, which returned with the new T220 and driver Peter Revson to harry, but not outrun, the McLarens. The Autocoast Ti22 was a new car built by Peter Bryant (who much later went on to design the Shelby Series 1 street car), and driver Jackie Oliver gave the McLaren team a fright at the last two races of the season, finishing a close second to Hulme each time.


Revson switched to Team McLaren for 1971, driving the new M8F to the championship over team leader Hulme. The big Chevys were now pumping out more than 700 hp, and that in a car weighing less than 1,500 pounds. They were the fastest racing cars in the world at that time. The only car capable of keeping up with the McLarens was the new Lola T260, driven by F-1 Champion Jackie Stewart. He picked up wins at St. Jovite and Mid-Ohio to finish third in the series behind the factory McLarens.

Porsche Power
The McLaren apple cart was firmly upset in 1972 when Porsche showed up with a turbocharged 917/10K. It had a killer flat-12 with over 1,000 hp. Roger Penske developed the car into a winner for driver Mark Donohue. When Donohue was injured, George Follmer took his place and won the championship in convincing fashion. The McLaren M20 with a 700+ hp Chevy just didn't have the power to keep up.


Although the spectators had a real treat watching these monsters at play, the ultra-expensive Porsches put the series in jeopardy. The cost of buying a customer-version Porsche was out of the reach of even semi-wealthy teams, and no Chevy-powered cars could keep up. The McLaren team, after so many wins and championships, withdrew after the 1972 season.