Tom Jones (26 April 1943 – 29 May 2015) was an American racing driver, born in Dallas, Texas.
He entered his own Cooper T82 in one Formula One race, the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix. After a promising practice performance, he suffered electrical problems during qualifying and only set one very slow lap time. The stewards denied him a place on the grid on the grounds that he was “too slow”, even though he had been competitive in practice runs.
Until quite recently Jones was considered one of Formula One’s great obscurities, but it has since emerged that he raced on and off throughout the 1970s in various series before retiring in 1980.
He ran a welding and metal fabrication company in Cleveland. Jones died in Eastlake, Ohio on 29 May 2015. His old Cooper T82 still survives and its current owner competes with it in historic racing series. Info from Wiki
Tom Jones F5000 USA from myF5000.com
Thomas Jones is expected to return to the Formula 5000 series in 1976 driving a new Lola. Not competing in the 1975 series, Jones started the first three 1974 events, ninth place at Mid-Ohio his best placing. The executive recruiter at Executive Search International in Beachwood, Ohio began racing in a Lotus Super 7 in 1965.
Two years later he won the Central Division’s Formula A championship and an invitation to the year-end “run-offs” but a dead battery kept him from completing that event. Jones also competed in the 1973 F/5000 series but was not a high finisher. From 1969 through 1972, he campaigned Formula B racers in SCCA National races as well as the Formula B Championship/Continental series.
Tom Jones – BIO from Formula One Rejects
Gallery Formula A and F500 F1
