Crawford Composites

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Crawford Composites
United States of America
Number of employees
30 (2018)
Websitecrawfordcomposites.com

Crawford Composites is an American manufacturer of carbon fiber and composite parts company based in Denver, North Carolina. Crawford designs and manufacture structural and non-structural composite components in industries such as aerospace, aviation, motor sports, health care, defense and structural construction.

History

Max Crawford

Crawford Composites founder Max Crawford started as a racing driver and mechanic in the

John Fitzpatrick Racing as a crew chief. After successes in Can-Am, Group C and a third place in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans, Crawford moved to North Carolina in 1987.[1]

Mazda RX-792P

In 1991 Crawford was contracted by

Watkins Glen International Raceway. After a number of technical failures to finish the cars were retired after the season.[3]

IRL

Crawford Composites was contracted by Riley & Scott to construct the chassis for their Indy Racing League program. The Crawford Composites constructed Riley & Scott Mk. V made its racing debut during the 1998 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Eliseo Salazar finished twelfth in the race. The best result was a sixth place achieved by Salazar at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A total of eight Mk. V chassis were constructed.[4]

Sport prototypes

For the

V10 engine. The car was built for Kevin Doran's racing team, Doran Racing.[6] During the two years the car was contested the car was fitted with various different front end designs. The blunt nose suffered similar issues as experienced by the Reynard 2KQ, the airflow towards the rear end was disrupted. By 2002 the Crawford followed Lola B2K/10's example with regard to the aerodynamic design. In the cars second season the car scored its first win. At Virginia International Raceway Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson won the 500 km race.[7]

In 2003 the

2004 Rolex Sports Car Series season. Three DP03's entered pre-season testing at Daytona International Speedway. The Howard-Boss Motorsports entry driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Andy Wallace was the fastest Crawford fourth overall.[8] The team finished fifth in the 2004 24 Hours of Daytona. The DP03's won three races during the season. The DP03 won eleven races between 2003 and 2008. A total of eleven DP03's were built.[9] After the 2008 season the second generation of Daytona Prototypes was presented. The DP08 was less successful than its predecessor. The cars best finish was an eighth place at the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona. Crawford did not design a third generation Daytona Prototype.[10]

Grand-Am GT

Chief designer Andy Scriven designed the Crawford GT06 chassis to compete in the

2007 Rolex Sports Car Series season. The GT06 had a tough opening season with Porsche's dominating the season. With Pontiac
joining the title fight the Crawford struggled. Due to a lack of results more teams switched to the more successful marques.

Formula racecars

Crawford Composites first attempt at

Honda Performance Development.[13] The racing class was announced with the unveiling of the car at the North American Motorsports Expo.[14] The FL15 made its debut at Virginia International Raceway with Dane Cameron behind the wheel. Cameron ran two exhibition sessions during the 2014 Ultimate Track Car Challenge.[15]

In 2016, the Crawford F4 was launched for the Formula 4 United States Championship. It features a 2000cc Honda K20C naturally aspirated engine, detuned to 160 hp.

In 2018, the Ligier Crawford JS F3 will debut at Formula 3 Americas Championship. It will have a 270 hp turbocharged version of the Honda K20C engine.

Cars

Year Car Class Notes
1992 Mazda RX-792P IMSA GT GTP
1998 Riley & Scott Mk. V IndyCar Series Chassis construction only
2000 Crawford SSC2K Sports Racing Prototype
2004 Crawford DP03 Daytona Prototype
2006 Crawford GT06
Grand-Am
GT		 Chassis for
Ford Mustang GT and the Ferrari F430
2008 Crawford DP08 Daytona Prototype
2010 Star Pro
Star Mazda
2014 Crawford FL15 Formula Lites
2016
Crawford F4-16
United States Formula 4 Championship
2018
Ligier JS F3
 FR Americas

References

  1. ^ "Max Crawford". Crawford Composites. Archived from the original on August 10, 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Mazda RX-792P". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Mazda RX-792P". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Advancing Automotive Aerodynamics". Greater Charlotte Biz. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Andy Scriven". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  6. ^ "2001-2002 Crawford SSC2K". Mulsanne's Corner.
  7. ^ "Crawford SSC2K". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  8. ^ "2004 Test Days at Daytona". Grand American. Archived from the original on June 30, 2004. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Crawford DP03". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Crawford DP08". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Andy Scriven Discusses New Crawford Race Cars GT Programs". Howard Motorsports. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  12. ^ "Crawford Composites launches "Formula Lites" class for SCCA Pro Racing". Racer. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. ^ "Formula Lites Selects Honda Power". Formula Lites. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  14. ^ "SCCA Adding Developmental Formula Series". National Speedsport News. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  15. ^ "ULTIMATE TRACK CAR CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GRASSROOTS MOTORSPORTS". Formula Lites. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crawford_Composites&oldid=1192174587"