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Indy racer dead at 54

Jim Crawford, who drove in eight Indianapolis 500s, died Tuesday (Aug. 6, 2002) at his home in Tierra Verde. He was 54.

The cause of death was not released.

Born in Scotland, Mr. Crawford began his racing career in England and followed his passion to Europe and the United States. He last raced at the Indy 500 in 1993.

"Jim was one of the most upbeat, brave guys I've ever had the pleasure to work with," said team owner John Menard, for whom Mr. Crawford drove in the 1990 Indy 500. "He loved speed and he was a great driver."

Mr. Crawford, who made two Formula One starts in 1975, made his Indy 500 debut in 1985. His best finish at Indy was sixth in 1988, one year after he was injured seriously during a qualifying run. His car roared into Turn 1 at 236 mph, spun into the wall and broke apart, leaving him with broken ankles, dislocated feet, several fractures in his right leg and a shattered left kneecap.

He was using a cane to walk when he returned to race the next year, and insisted on walking his car through the qualifying line rather than riding in a cart. The move endeared him to fans.

"He was obviously in great pain, but he always had a grin on his face," Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson said. "It's amazing how he could sit and chat and grin and laugh and, even as the years wore on, you had to think, 'Those feet must hurt.' "

In 1989, Mr. Crawford set the one- and four-lap qualifying records for a turbo-charged stock-block engine at 222.069 and 221.450, respectively. In 1992, he set the unofficial one-lap record at 233.433 mph during practice.

While recuperating from his injuries in 1987, Mr. Crawford discovered the Tampa Bay area. He bought a house in Tierra Verde and docked his 52-foot fishing yacht nearby. He named the boat Turn 1, after the corner in which he crashed.

"He loved to fish," said George Roux, captain of Mr. Crawford's boat in the late 1980s and a longtime friend. "He entertained a lot of race car drivers on the boat."

In the years after his crash, Crawford competed in one race a year, the Indy 500. He would have liked to drive more, but the stiffness in his feet and ankles limited him to oval racing.

"There's nothing else I'd rather do than race," he told the Times in 1992. "If I won $70-million in the lottery, the first thing I'd do is go out and buy myself a car to go racing with. It's in the blood. Probably always will be."

Mr. Crawford is survived by his wife, Annie, and two children from a previous marriage, Geoffrey and Emily.

Fittipaldi NASCAR-bound

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Christian Fittipaldi will switch wheels next season, leaving CART and joining Petty Enterprises in a combined Busch Grand National and Winston Cup program.

The nephew of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi has been a regular in CART for eight years, all but the first with Newman-Haas Racing.

"Christian will be another bright new star in our sport," said Kyle Petty, CEO of the family-run Petty team. "It's exciting for us to have landed him. He's got tremendous experience and he's been very successful in every series he's raced in."

Petty said Fittipaldi will compete next year in the BGN series as well as a handful of Winston Cup and ARCA events. If all goes as planned, the 31-year-old Brazilian would move to NASCAR's top stock car series full time in 2004.

The Petty team's current Winston Cup drivers are Kyle Petty, John Andretti and recent addition Jerry Nadeau. Buckshot Jones and Steve Grissom had driven the third Petty Dodge this season.

Andretti's future with the team is uncertain.

"He is still weighing his options to be honest with you," Petty said. "We've told him ... that we want him. I talked to him and his father last weekend at Indianapolis, and he's still leaning our way."

NASCAR: Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, inducted last week into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will be the honorary starter for Sunday's race at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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