I just happened to be in the grandstands of the brand new Texas International Speedway in College Station, Texas; unofficial practice, Friday November 7, 1969.
Tom Dutton, a journeyman Can Am driver was substituting for an “ill” John Surtees. Rumor had it that Surtees had grown weary of the lack of development progress of the 2H.
Dutton was hired at the last minute so that Jim Hall would have an entry at the first Can Am race held in his home state.
Sometime during one of the morning sessions, Dutton lost control of the Chaparral coming out of the backfield portion of the road course and pancaked the car into boiler plate protecting the cars from the outside wall of the back stretch of the Nascar oval.
Word has it that the fiberglass monocoque looked like the shell of a hard boiled egg once it is tapped on a counter top.
Having grown up in Texas and ultimately being a racer myself, along with the fact I was there, this is my grail.
Replicarz R18807 Chaparral 2H High Wing #7 'John Surtees' Can-Am DNS Laguna Seca 1969, 1/18th scale, resin, model car, diecast, die-casts, Can-Am
motorsportsminiatures.com