Driver, innovator, team owner

James “Hap” Sharp partnered with 1994 inductee Jim Hall to form one of the most influential sports car racing teams ever. Working from their shop in Midland, TX, they created the innovative Chaparral cars, which introduced downforce, wings, composite chassis, semi-automatic gearboxes and other innovations to the sport. Sharp also championed the team’s endurance racing efforts, resulting in historic wins at Sebring and elsewhere. The Tulsa native began racing in the late ‘50s, first in Corvettes and then a range of sports and formula cars, including six F1 starts. When he and Hall formed Chaparral in 1962, success in professional racing followed. They won that year’s prestigious Road America 500 in their Chevy-powered Chaparral 1 and Sharp finished fifth in the 1964 U.S. Road Racing Championship. In 1965, Sharp won eight major races, including victories in the Sebring 12 Hours and over another all-star international field at Riverside. Sharp retired from driving full-time but continued to spearhead Chaparral’s endurance efforts, amassing wins at the Nurburgring in 1966 and Brands Hatch in 1967.