HSR West Historic Vintage Racing 2009 – Can Am
By Joey Leh, Photography by the author

The infamous Can-Am, or Canadian American Challenge Cup, is probably best remembered today for producing some wild, experimental racing cars. Run from 1966-1974, the series took place in both Canada and the US (hence the name) and featured an unlimited format for the cars.
Famous names like McLaren, Andretti, Donohue, Gurney, Lola, Chaparral, Ickx and Porsche all had their part in the series. Noted racecar enthusiast and actor Paul Newman even had a Can-Am team.
Engine displacement was unrestricted (as was turbocharging and supercharging) and aerodynamics was open (the Chaparral fan car sucking down on the road is the best example).
These were the key elements that made Can-Am cars so memorable, even today. The experimentation and outrageous ideas carried out in the Can-Am series influence even the garage tuner of today.
We know that we’ve thought about using two engines and a snowmobile engine with ground effects in some of our projects.
Can-Am eventually spiraled its way out of control, with low weight chassis, 1200-1500hp engines and 1970s-era tire technology. But the cars that have survived are still going today and can be found in vintage historic racing.
We caught up with some at the HSR West Auto Club Speedway event in Fontana, CA.
Source
HSR West
www.hsrwestrace.com



