# Jim Crawford (racing driver)

James Alan Crawford (13 February 1948 – 6 August 2002) was a British racing driver from Scotland.
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 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 19 July 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 United States 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 crash in practice which resulted in serious leg injuries. However, he recovered sufficiently to return 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 1995.

## 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 favourites 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 life

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 72E | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | NED | FRA | GBR Ret | GER | AUT | | | NC | 0 |
| 1975 | John Player Special Team Lotus | Lotus 72F | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | ITA 13 | USA | NC | 0 |

### Complete Formula One non-championship results

(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1975 | John Player Special Team Lotus | Lotus 72E | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ROC | INT DNS | SUI |

### Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1975 | SDC Racing | Chevron B29 | Ford | EST | THR | HOC | NÜR | PAU | HOC | SAL | ROU | MUG | PER | SIL Ret | ZOL | NOG | VAL | NC | 0 |
| 1980 | Plygrange Racing | Chevron B45 | Ford | THR | HOC | NÜR | VAL | PAU | SIL Ret | ZOL 10 | MUG | ZAN | PER | MIS | HOC | | | NC | 0 |
| 1981 | Plygrange Racing | Toleman TG280 | Hart | SIL 4 | HOC 7 | THR Ret | NÜR Ret | VAL 9 | MUG 11 | PAU 10 | PER | SPA 6 | DON 9 | MIS 7 | MAN 10 | | | 16th | 4 |

### Complete Shellsport International Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1976 | Peter Williams | Chevron B29 | Ford BDA Nicholson 1.6 L4 | MAL | SNE | OUL 5 | BRH Ret | THR DNS | BRH | MAL | SNE | BRH | THR | OUL | BRH | | 24th | 11 |
| 1976 | Marshall Wingfield | Chevron B34 | Ford BDA Hart 1.6 L4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | BRH 8 | 24th | 11 |

### Complete British Formula One Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1980 | Plygrange Racing | Chevron B45 | Ford BDX 2.0 L4 | OUL 4 | BRH | SIL 6 | MAL 3 | THR 13 | MNZ Ret | MAL 4 | SNE 4 | BRH 6 | THR Ret | OUL 1 | SIL 8 | 4th | 24 |
| 1982 | Team Ensign | Ensign N180B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | OUL Ret | BRH 1 | THR 1 | DON 1 | BRH | | | | | | | | 1st | 34 |

### Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1982 | Vesuvio Racing | Gr.5 | Lancia Beta Monte Carlo | Lancia 1.4 L4t | MNZ | SIL 10 | NÜR | LMS | SPA | MUG | FUJ | BRH | 103rd | 2 |

### American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

#### PPG Indy Car World Series

| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1984 | Ed Wachs Motor Sports | Theodore T83 | Cosworth DFX V8t | LBH 4 | PHX | INDY DNQ | MIL | POR | MEA 21 | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | PHX | | | | 27th | 12 |
| 1984 | H&R Racing | March 82/83C | Cosworth DFX V8t | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | LAG 23 | CPL | | 27th | 12 |
| 1985 | Wysard Racing | Lola T900 | Cosworth DFX V8t | LBH 4 | INDY 16 | MIL DNS | POR | MEA 9 | CLE 13 | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | | | | | | | | 20th | 16 |
| 1985 | Canadian Tire Racing | Lola T900 | Cosworth DFX V8t | | | | | | | | | | | SAN 20 | MCH | LAG | | | | | 20th | 16 |
| 1985 | Pace Racing | Lola T900 | Cosworth DFX V8t | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PHX 15 | MIA 16 | | | 20th | 16 |
| 1986 | March Engineering | March 86C | Buick 3300 V6t | PHX | LBH | INDY 29 | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | ROA | LAG | PHX | MIA | NC | 0 |
| 1987 | Patrick Racing | March 86C | Buick 3300 V6t | LBH | PHX | INDY DNQ | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | ROA | MDO | NAZ | LAG | MIA | | | NA | - |
| 1988 | King Racing | Lola T87/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | PHX | LBH | INDY 6 | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | MEA | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | MIA | | | 27th | 8 |
| 1989 | King Racing | Lola T87/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | PHX | LBH | INDY 19 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | | | 47th | 0 |
| 1990 | Team Menard | Lola T89/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | PHX 19 | LBH | INDY 15 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | | 36th | 0 |
| 1991 | King Racing | Lola T91/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | SRF | LBH | PHX | INDY 26 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | 50th | 0 |
| 1992 | King Racing | Lola T92/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | SRF | PHX | LBH | INDY 25 | DET | POR | MIL | NHA | TOR | MCH | CLE | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | | 56th | 0 |
| 1993 | King Racing | Lola T93/00 | Chevrolet 265C V8t | SRF | PHX | LBH | INDY 24 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | NHA | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | | 49th | 0 |
| 1994 | Riley & Scott | Lola T91/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | SRF | PHX | LBH | INDY DNQ | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LAG | | NA | - |
| 1995 | Hemelgarn Racing | Lola T92/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | MIA | SRF | PHX | LBH | NAZ | INDY DNQ | MIL | DET | POR | ROA | TOR | CLE | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | LAG | NA | - |

##### Indianapolis 500

| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
| 1984 | Theodore 83 | Ford Cosworth DFX | DNQ | DNQ | Ed Wachs Motor Sports |
| 1985 | Lola T900 | Ford Cosworth DFX | 27 | 16 | Wysard Racing |
| 1986 | March 86C | Buick | 26 | 29 | March Engineering |
| 1987 | March 86C | Buick | DNQ | DNQ | 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 | DNQ | Riley & Scott |
| 1995 | Lola T92/00 | Buick | DNQ | DNQ | Hemelgarn Racing |