One of the more flamboyant characters to challenge for the Rookie honors is Jimmy Crawford. As the 2002 VRA Sprint Champion, he was a crowd favorite, not afraid to act silly, but at the same time very dedicated to serious racing.

Jimmy Crawford who admits to 27 years of age was born in Fairfield, Iowa, where his Dad attended college. Like his father, who rode motorcycle scrambles as a youngster in Michigan, Jimmy participated in recreational motocross as a child. Jimmy's Dad raced motorcycles, cars and boats and at one time was a teammate of the late Ron Kruseman. Jimmy started his racing career at Glen Helen in 1994, running a Quad, when he promptly broke his back and laid out for the rest of the year. In 1995, Crawford decided to try the Off Road Trucks before settling in at Ventura Raceway racing an I-4 Modified in 1996, where he finished third in points and was named Rookie of the Year. Crawford stepped up to an IMCA Modified for 1997, finishing sixth in points and again collecting the Rookie of the Year honors. 1998 found Jimmy strapping into an IMCA Sprint Car and gaining the Rookie title at Ventura and finishing runner-up in the national IMCA rookie competition. From 1998 through 2002, Crawford ran consistently in the top five in points and claimed the championship in 2002, with a record of one win, 17 top five finishes, 22 top ten finishes in 24 main events.

While Jimmy played baseball and soccer as a youngster, but when he entered Ventura's Buena High School, interests shifted to being a certified surf bum. Crawford attended Maur Hill Prep School in Atchison, Kansas for his senior year and was slated to attend Kansas University, but came home to Ventura for the summer and didn't return.

Crawford's family migrated to Ventura from Iowa, but their roots were in Michigan, when Jimmy's grandfather was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for General Motors. Crawford's father, Jim and his brother came to Ventura to open Crawford Chevrolet, which later became Paradise Chevrolet. Jimmy credits his father with being a business mentor. In January 1989, Jimmy joined with partner, Timothy Martinez to form Western NRG and marathonstore.com, a manufacturer and distributor of data communications products. Jimmy serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the company.

Jimmy is competing for the SCRA Rookie title this year, driving the Jim & Petie Ruth #25 sprinter. This team has two chassis, a TCR and a Stinger with power coming from RC Performance 410 engines. The crew consists of D.J. Ruth and his girlfriend, Renee, Jack Keene, Dave Twitchell, Lee Davis, Rich Engle, Eddie Butcher and Jammy Earnest. Sponsorship assistance comes from Circle Track Performance, RC Performance, J&J Racing, R&D Quality Finishing, JAZ Products, Super Shox, Sander Engineering, ARP, Extreme Mufflers, Maxwell Shock Dynos, Air Gas Products, Stealth Products, Western NRG and marthonstore.com.

Crawford names A.J. Foyt and Jack Hewitt as racing heroes, with favorite tracks being Ventura, Manzanita and Tulare. He acknowledged that Steve "Biggie" Watt helped him with chassis setups and that kudos should go to Steve Gresham, who built his 360 engines, providing the consistency for winning the 2002 VRA championship. Fellow competitor, Rob Kershaw's kids hung the "Neutron" tag on Jimmy. Crawford stated that he learned a lot about driving techniques from watching Bud Kaeding, Cory Kruseman and Gary A. Howard.

While racing and work occupy much of his time, relaxation comes from riding his Harley or chillin' by the pool. Crawford devotes some spare time as the Vice President of the Committee to Save Ventura Raceway. Jimmy said that a racing goal that he dreams of would to be able to compete with a NASCAR national series. In reality, he would like to race with USAC in both Sprint and Silver Crown competition. One goal he accomplished this year was being able to race with the SCRA.

When asked to compare the SCRA car to the VRA car, Jimmy said that the weight difference between the steel and aluminum engines causes the cars to react differently. Crawford feels that an added advantage of competing with the SCRA, is regularly racing with the best drivers on dirt in America.