James Alan Crawford (13 February 1948 – 6 August 2002) was a British racing driver from Scotland.

Crawford's 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.

Crawford 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 second to sixth.

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 eight 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 sixth. 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 fourth, 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 sixth 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 finish (sixth), and his final start came in 1993. He failed to qualify in 1994–1995, and retired from driving.

Personal life After his 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 Pts John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 72E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT NC 0 Lotus 72F ITA USA

Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 72E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC INT 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 Pts SDC Racing Chevron B29 Ford EST THR HOC NÜR PAU HOC SAL ROU MUG PER SIL ZOL NOG VAL NC 0 Plygrange Racing Chevron B45 Ford THR HOC NÜR VAL PAU SIL ZOL MUG ZAN PER MIS HOC NC 0 Plygrange Racing Toleman TG280 Hart SIL HOC THR NÜR VAL MUG PAU PER SPA DON MIS MAN 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 Pts 1976 Peter Williams Chevron B29 Ford BDA Nicholson 1.6 L4 MAL SNE OUL BRH THR BRH MAL SNE BRH THR OUL BRH 24th 11 Marshall Wingfield Chevron B34 Ford BDA Hart 1.6 L4 BRH

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 Pts 1980 Plygrange Racing Chevron B45 Ford BDX 2.0 L4 OUL BRH SIL MAL THR MNZ MAL SNE BRH THR OUL SIL 4th 24 1982 Team Ensign Ensign N180B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 OUL BRH THR DON 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 Pts 1982 Vesuvio Racing Gr.5 Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Lancia 1.4 L4t MNZ SIL 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 Pts Ref 1984 Ed Wachs Motor Sports Theodore T83 Cosworth DFX V8t LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH PHX 27th 12 H&R Racing March 82/83C LAG CPL 1985 Wysard Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX V8t LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO 20th 16 Canadian Tire Racing SAN MCH LAG Pace Racing PHX MIA 1986 March Engineering March 86C Buick 3300 V6t PHX LBH INDY 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 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 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 MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG 47th 0 1990 Team Menard Lola T89/00 Buick 3300 V6t PHX LBH INDY 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

References

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