Jim Crawford

A Lecture by Kevin Guthrie

An illustrated lecture entitled 'Dunfermline's Forgotten Racing Hero' will be delivered by Kevin Guthrie this Sunday in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale from the venue priced £5 and at 01383 602365.

Jim Crawford was born in Dunfermline in 1948, and our first photograph shows his parents, Alexander and Annie. Jim's first motorsport experience came behind the wheel of a Mini that he drove in several rallies. After showing great promise in Formula Libre races, he landed a drive in Formula Atlantic. He was then discovered by Lotus Cars, participated in two World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, and won the 1982 British Formula One Championship.

Jim moved to the United States in the early 1980s, and our following photograph shows him at his first ever Indy race in 1984 in Long Beach, California, where he finished 4th. He also ended runner-up twice in the Can-Am series before making his name in the world-famous Indianapolis 500, in which he was the first Scotsman since Jim Clark to lead the race.

There, Jim suffered life-changing injuries in a 1987 235mph accident when he came close to losing his life. He subsequently underwent multiple operations-contracting hepatitis in one due to contamination, and was left in pain for the rest of his life. 

Miraculously, Jim recovered sufficiently to return to Indianapolis in 1988 after a year of rehabilitation from leg and foot injuries and walking with a cane, leading the race for a few laps. A late-race puncture dropped him from second to fifth. 

In our following photograph, local author Kevin Guthrie is pictured alongside a display about Jim Crawford that is currently on show in the Reading Room in DCLG. There are copies of Kevin's book on Jim, entitled 'Lessons in Courage', in the Library shop.

Kevin describes his early interest in Jim Crawford: "When I was a kid, I used to watch the Indianapolis 500 race and was amazed to find out that one of the top drivers was from Dunfermline. I was a big fan of Jim's from that day on".

Our final photograph shows Jim celebrating a Can-Am victory at the Mosport circuit in Canada in September 1983. A quote from Roman Kuzma, his 1986 Indianapolis Crew Chief, sums up Jim's qualities as a driver and human being: "Jim Crawford's infectious grin and optimism, even in the face of adversity, will stay with me forever. Jim was simply a racer's racer in a cut-throat sport that often breeds greed, jealousy and arrogance".

A friend and rival, Willy T Ribbs-the- the first African American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 - described Jim: "He was a hoot, a great personality and a great, great human being. There are a lot of people who live to 95 and don't do five per cent of what Jim did."

After retirement, Jim lived in St Petersburg, Florida, where he bought a fishing boat for charters before dying much too young at age 54.

Kevin’s book is available at the following link:

https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/jim-crawford-lessons-in-courage.html

Article by Frank Connelly