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| Born | April 12, 1938 Westport, Connecticut |
| Organization | World Stock Car Championship |
| Title | Chief Executive Officer |
| Predecessor | Elliott Crawford |
| Successor | Vickie Harper |
| Spouse(s) | Suzanne Taylor |
| Children | Joe Crawford Vickie Harper Ben Crawford Harry Crawford |
Johnathan Michael "Jack" Crawford (born April 12, 1938) is a retired American businessman who formerly served as the CEO of the World Stock Car Championship; he succeeded his father as CEO following his 1966 death from a heart attack. Crawford served as CEO until 2004, when he stepped into an advisory role, which he held until 2009. His daughter, Vickie, has served as the series' CEO since his 2004 retirement.
Early Life[edit | edit source]
Crawford was born in Westport, Connecticut to Anne Reynolds and Elliott Crawford. He attended Staples High School and attended Trinity College in Hartford prior to joining the family business in stock car racing.
Crawford grew up around racing and motorsports; he worked various jobs at Thompson Speedway - including parking cars and selling concessions - as a teenager, and he worked twelve-hour days during the summer of 1956 helping to construct Lime Rock Park alongside his father. He would also run endurance races during these years, competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1960 through 1965 with various manufacturers. He also spent significant time as a promoter for support events, arranging "undercard" races to support the growing National Stock Car Series. In 1964, he was promoted to Vice President of the company.
Career[edit | edit source]
Upon the elder Crawford's untimely death in late 1966 from a heart attack, Jack was named the interim CEO; he had been working closely with his father on the rules for the 1967 season, and had spearheaded many of the schedule changes that were planned to take place beginning the following year. He was officially named CEO at a board meeting on September 9, 1967.
Crawford also managed to fight off competition from the upstart American Stock Car Tour throughout the mid-1960's through the early 1970's; Crawford and the National Stock Car Series successfully bought out the latter series in 1976. While ASCT no longer existed on paper, several of the series' races made their way onto the schedule as part of the merger agreement.
Crawford's reign at the helm of the series saw its most significant periods in terms of change and growth. Though it was initially proposed by his father, the schedule reforms of the later 1960's occurred at the younger Crawford's direction and under his direct guidance. He was instrumental in expanding the sport outside of its roots in the United States and Canada. In 1971, he struck a deal with promoters looking to revive the defunct Donington Park, opening the door for the first stock car race outside of North America. That race has since become among the most prestigious race on the schedule. He later proposed the addition of an endurance race to the schedule, and on July 4, 1976, as a celebration of America's Bicentennial, Daytona International Speedway hosted a 1776-km endurance race, a tradition that continues today.
Crawford would continue to expand the series internationally, hosting exhibition races at Hockenheimring (1975) and Suzuka (1978). The series, upon adding several official races around the globe, rebranded in 1976 as the World Stock Car Championship.