Jim Crawford (racing driver)

For other people named Jim Crawford, see Jim Crawford (disambiguation).

Jim Crawford

Crawford at the 1988 Indianapolis 500
Born	(1948-02-13)13 February 1948
Died	6 August 2002(2002-08-06) (aged 54)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1975
Teams	Lotus
Entries	2
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1975 British Grand Prix
Last entry	1975 Italian Grand Prix

Jim Crawford (February 13, 1948 in Dunfermline, Fife – August 6, 2002 in Tierra Verde, Florida, United States) was a Scottish racing driver. His first motorsport experience came behind the wheel of a Mini that he drove in several rallies. After an unsuccessful stint in Formula Ford he landed a drive in his friend Stephen Choularton's team in Formula Atlantic, after showing great promise in a couple of Formula Libre races at Croft. He went on to spend a number of years driving alongside Stephen Choularton at SDC Racing in Formula Atlantic and was spotted by Lotus Cars and offered a test drive by them. He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on July 19, 1975. He was also the winner of the 1982 British Formula One Championship. He is notable for being the 500th person to start a Formula One World Championship race.

Crawford moved to the USA in the early 1980s, finishing runner-up twice in the Can Am series. He finished fourth on his CART debut at Long Beach in 1984 and went on to become a regular in the Indianapolis 500. It was there in 1987 that Crawford suffered a huge crash in practice which resulted in devastating leg injuries. Incredibly he returned to the 500 in 1988, leading the race for a few laps. A late race puncture dropped him from 2nd to 6th.

Crawford's final 500 was in 1993, although he made unsuccessful attempts to qualify old cars in 1994 and 1985.

Indy Car career

Crawford moved to the United States in the 1980s and began a career in Champ Cars. In 1987, he suffered a devastating accident during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 which left his feet and ankles badly injured.

1988 Indianapolis 500

Crawford's most notable run at Indy occurred in 1988. After nearly a year of rehabilitation from leg and foot injuries, Crawford returned for the 1988 Indianapolis 500. He signed with King Racing as a teammate to Johnny Rutherford, driving a Buick entry. He was a last-minute addition to the team, joining just prior to opening day. He made little headlines during time trials, quietly making the field late on the second day. He was still recovering from his leg injuries, and walked the month with the aid of a cane.

On race day, however, Crawford created quite a stir. The race was dominated by the Penske Team, however, Crawford was in contention all afternoon, and was the only driver other than the Penske cars to lead laps during the race. Crawford took the lead near the midpoint, and led 8 laps. He drove a highly aggressive race, dicing in and out of traffic at will, and frequently dropping well below the white lines in the turns. Crawford set a blistering pace during his stint in the lead, and was running second as late as lap 194. With six laps to go, he got sideways in turn three, and flat-spotted his tires. He ducked into the pits for new tires, but the crew had difficulties, and he lost several seconds. He lost a lap, and finished 6th. It was the highest finish at the time for the Buick V-6 Indy engine, and Crawford was praised for his strong effort.

Later years

Crawford returned to Indy in 1989 with high expectations after his 1988 performance. He qualified 4th, the highest of the non-Chevrolet teams, but dropped out with mechanical problems on race day.

In 1990, Crawford joined the Menard team, and during practice, suffered a spectacular crash. He spun and hit the wall in turn one, then became airborne 10–15 feet above the ground in the south short chute. He was not seriously injured. He finished 15th on race day.

Crawford's final notable appearance at Indy was in 1992. Crawford re-joined the King Racing team, as a teammate to Roberto Guerrero driving once again the Buick V-6 engine. Crawford and Guerrero led the speed charts all through practice, with Crawford setting an all-time unofficial track record of 233.433 mph. Both drivers were heavy favorites for the pole position, but on the morning of pole day, Crawford blew an engine. Rain pushed time trials into the next day, which gave the team time to install a new engine. However, on the second day, he blew another engine, and wound up missing his opportunity to qualify during the pole round. He qualified 6th fastest, but as a second day qualifier, lined up 21st. On race day, he was a factor early, but crashed out on lap 75 collecting Rick Mears.

The 1988 race would end up being Crawford's best Indy car finish (6th), and his final start came in 1993. He failed to qualify in 1994–1995, and retired from driving.

Personal

After retirement from racing, Crawford lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he bought a fishing boat he used for charters. He died in 2002 of liver failure. He was survived by his second wife Annie and his children from his first marriage, Geoffrey and Emily.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	WDC	Pts
1975	John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus 72F	Ford Cosworth DFV	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	AUT	ITA 13	USA	NC	0

American Open Wheel racing results

(key)

PPG Indycar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
1984	Ed Wachs Motor Sports	LBH 4	PHX	INDY DNQ	MIL	POR	MEA 21	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	PHX				27th	12
	H&R Racing															LAG 23	CPL
1985	Wysard Racing	LBH 4	INDY 16	MIL DNS	POR	MEA 9	CLE 13	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO								20th	16
	Canadian Tire Racing											SAN 20	MCH	LAG
	Pace Racing														PHX 15	MIA 16
1986	Team ASC	PHX	LBH	INDY 29	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	ROA	LAG	PHX	MIA	NC	0
1987	Patrick Racing	LBH	PHX	INDY DNQ	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH	POC	ROA	MDO	NAZ	LAG	MIA			NC	-
1988	King Racing	PHX	LBH	INDY 6	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	MEA	MCH	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	MIA			27th	8
1989	King Racing	PHX	LBH	INDY 19	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG			47th	0
1990	Team Menard	PHX 19	LBH	INDY 15	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG		36th	0
1991	King Racing	SRF	LBH	PHX	INDY 26	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	50th	0
1992	King Racing	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY 25	DET	POR	MIL	NHA	TOR	MCH	CLE	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LAG		56th	0
1993	King Racing	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY 24	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	NHA	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LAG		49th	0
1994	Riley & Scott	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY DNQ	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	ROA	NAZ	LAG		NC	-
1995	Hemelgarn Racing	MIA	SRF	PHX	LBH	NAZ	INDY DNQ	MIL	DET	POR	ROA	TOR	CLE	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	LAG	NC	-

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1984	Theodore 83	Ford Cosworth DFX	DNQ		Ed Wachs Motor Sports
1985	Lola T900	Ford Cosworth DFX	27	16	Wysard Racing
1986	March 86C	Buick	26	29	Team ASC
1987	March 86C	Buick	Injured		Patrick Racing
1988	Lola T87/00	Buick	18	6	King Racing
1989	Lola T87/00	Buick	4	19	King Racing
1990	Lola T89/00	Buick	29	15	Team Menard
1991	Lola T91/00	Buick	8	26	King Racing
1992	Lola T92/00	Buick	21	25	King Racing
1993	Lola T93/00	Chevrolet 265C	31	24	King Racing
1994	Lola T91/00	Buick	DNQ		Riley & Scott
1995	Lola T92/00	Buick	DNQ		Hemelgarn Racing