Team story
Origins
Ray Crawford entered and drove the number 49 Meguiar's Mirror Glaze in the 1959 Indianapolis 500. Its chassis was an Elder and its engine an Offenhauser. This combination, tied to an American Indianapolis programme, explains the Elder name's presence in the World Championship archive.
The Formula 1 journey
Crawford qualified thirty-second, the penultimate position on the grid. The official classification records 115 laps before a crash and a final placing of twenty-third. This was not a finish over the scheduled distance: the numerical position describes an interrupted race, not a car still running at the end.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Elder
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Indianapolis 500
Ray Crawford · Indianapolis 500 1959. The recorded position is P23; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Indianapolis 500
Ray Crawford · Indianapolis 500 1959. The recorded position is P23; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Indianapolis 500
Ray Crawford · Indianapolis 500 1959. The recorded position is P23; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
Edgar Elder was both a driver and a racing car constructor. At Indianapolis, however, the entrant and driver of his car was Crawford, not Elder. The hand-built chassis and Offenhauser engine belonged to the American tradition of specials, also identified through the names of those who entered or financed them.
What remains
That remained Elder's only recorded championship appearance. Indianapolis counted towards the drivers' title between 1950 and 1960 while retaining its American regulations and participants. Its championship history is therefore Crawford's single attempt on the oval, not a season of travelling alongside the European teams.