James C. dies at track event in Aspen

[2.7RS]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2023/6/26/23773876/james-crown-billionaire-ceo-chicago-crime-aspen-motorsports-park-woody-creek-colorado

Does anyone have more information? Medical emergency?

I'm interested in the details of the accident

Like what type of venue?
Was it a race?
DE event?
What type of car? Race car? Caged? Street?

I've been a DE instructor for years this thnigs really puzzle me when you are trying to teach safety.
I like to believe my hobby is safe.

Condolences to the family

[juanbenae]

https://www.airportsindia.org.in/questions/what-car-was-james-crown-driving/#:~:text=The%20car%20crash%20that%20claimed,collid ed%20with%20an%20impact%20barrier.

never heard of a toyota crown before.

[oldE]

Years ago there was a Crown in the early days in the North American market. The new Crown is a hybrid.
Best
Les

[mgatepi]

They use Crowns for Taxis in Japan.

[pwd72s]

I drove Woody Creek decades ago, before it became a private track...members only thing now. I doubt it was a race....would be difficult to go wheel to wheel on what was then a slightly glorified go-kart track. Narrow....maybe 20 feet? So I'm thinking wealthy guys making timed laps in street cars probably way overpowered for a track that small. Don't think my '72 911S ever got out of 3rd gear. The longest straight, leading to a right hand sweeper, was maybe 1/8th mile...probably less. Article says hit a wall? No walls then, but there were some pretty large boulder sized rocks placed around the perimeter. Recall that those made me nervous, so I didn't push things, figuring no trophy was worth dinging my car.

Keep in mind, the last time I drove there was the 1978 PCA Parade. The track might be totally different now, but because of location I can't see it's layout being altered enough to make it anything resembling a high speed race course. "Woody Creek Raceway" was a misnomer...it really was a go-kart track.

[MMARSH]

Opps

[MMARSH]

This is their current facility.

[Scott Douglas]

Yeah, I'd say a hybrid can get going fast enough on that track to kill ya.

[herr_oberst]

Decent looking car; the page someone up there referenced said it was modified for racing. I was hoping to see a Gazoo-modified Crown, but only found some cars with bodykits.

Sad story, nonetheless.

[speeder]

Super sad because it sounds like he was a good guy but driving hard on a track can still be dangerous, even with modern safety equipment. There is always that element of risk that makes many activities exciting but this poor guy ran out of luck. RIP.

It’s worth noting, however, that as a billionaire and managing partner of Aspen Ski Corp, I’m going to say that he had fun on earth.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

https://www.airportsindia.org.in/questions/what-car-was-james-crown-driving/#:~:text=The%20car%20crash%20that%20claimed,collid ed%20with%20an%20impact%20barrier.

never heard of a toyota crown before.

Wait…his name was Crown and he died driving a car called Crown? That’s just weird.

[manbridge 74]

Uhh…. The source is some dubious Indian news AI site. No way the guy was driving a Crown.

I’m guessing any details won’t be forthcoming unless an eyewitness posts. When you are the 34th richest guy it is easy to curate your image, even after death. We had a CEO of a local major (multi-make/multi-location) dealership turn left in front of a motorcycle, took the riders leg off. Nothing in the news, rider never identified etc. Only way we knew was the blood left behind, only two doors down from us.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

https://www.airportsindia.org.in/questions/what-car-was-james-crown-driving/#:~:text=The%20car%20crash%20that%20claimed,collid ed%20with%20an%20impact%20barrier.

never heard of a toyota crown before.

Originally Posted by oldE

Years ago there was a Crown in the early days in the North American market. The new Crown is a hybrid.
Best
Les

Yep, I remember the crown from way back. I saw one on the way home today and thought "huh, that's new."

[manbridge 74]

From another forum poster with some deducing skill…


It's highly unlikely it was a Toyota Crown, it's far more likely it was one of the Toyota-powered Spec Racer cars owned by the club and being driven by Crown - that piece of information then went through the reblog information muncher. 100 hp and 1500 lbs from what I recall, which is perky.

I hope I'm doing the same thing on my 70th birthday. Well, the driving at the track part.

BTW, this track used to be known as Woody Creek Raceway, it's shoehorned in beside a gravel pit near Woody Creek/Snowmass. Near where Hunter S. Thompson lived. It's a hard one to get track time on because it's a country club track with a VERY high buy-in. I've been on it once, and I remember lots of jokes about "safety boulders". It wasn't known for its runoff and it was about as wide as a kart track. When I was there, we were running clockwise with a chicane on the straight - you can see why they might want to keep top speeds down if you look at the turn at the end of the straight. For scale, that's a 1.1 mile lap. This may be the end of the track, although only the club members would ever notice.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by manbridge 74

From another forum poster with some deducing skill…


It's highly unlikely it was a Toyota Crown, it's far more likely it was one of the Toyota-powered Spec Racer cars owned by the club and being driven by Crown - that piece of information then went through the reblog information muncher. 100 hp and 1500 lbs from what I recall, which is perky.

I hope I'm doing the same thing on my 70th birthday. Well, the driving at the track part.

BTW, this track used to be known as Woody Creek Raceway, it's shoehorned in beside a gravel pit near Woody Creek/Snowmass. Near where Hunter S. Thompson lived. It's a hard one to get track time on because it's a country club track with a VERY high buy-in. I've been on it once, and I remember lots of jokes about "safety boulders". It wasn't known for its runoff and it was about as wide as a kart track. When I was there, we were running clockwise with a chicane on the straight - you can see why they might want to keep top speeds down if you look at the turn at the end of the straight. For scale, that's a 1.1 mile lap. This may be the end of the track, although only the club members would ever notice.

My fading memory as well. The trick to a fast lap was a late apex at the right hander at the end of the straight. Back in '78, boulders where what looks like a wall is now. A space to spin if you overcooked it, but not a lot of space, surface hard packed dirt containing gravel. Wouldn't slow you down much. I didn't want to go there. My wild ass guess is that Crown had a bit of brain fade, or tried to late brake too late at the end of the straight.

Like I said, I didn't push it...it was a fun course, but thought the risk of dinging a car was more than I wanted....certainly not like a safely designed auto-x where there is plenty of run off for spins. I drove there twice..the '78 Parade auto-x and a multi region bicentennial event put on in '76 by Rocky Mtn. Region. For that event, remember watching Grady Clay, trying to learn the fast way around. Alan Johnson was there as a celebrity instructor, but I thought it was Grady who really knew the best way around. Buddy John Gilson & I drove out from Oregon for that one...John earning the nickname "honest John" after admitting he had 1800 cc in his '67 912...that placed him driving on street tires vs. race rubber in a higher class.
Miss my buddy John...he died quite some time ago..heart.

[speeder]

He probably just over cooked it...happens all the time but usually not with such tragic results. The grim reaper is always there, tapping his chin with his forefinger, any time we engage in dangerous sports. Sometimes, he gets his due. RIP.

[911 Rod]

Reminds everyone the HPDE can have catastrophic ramifications.