Jeff Krosnoff

Jeffrey John Krosnoff (September 24, 1964 – July 14, 1996) was an American race car driver. A competitor in the CART PPG Indy Car World Series, he was killed in a racing accident during the 1996 Molson Indy Toronto.

Early life and career Krosnoff was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in La Cañada, California, where he attended Flintridge Preparatory School, a private high school. He then attended the University of California, San Diego for one year beginning in September 1982. Afterward, he transferred to UCLA, where he majored in Business. Throughout his college career, Krosnoff was focused on pursuing his dream of professional racecar driving.

Krosnoff competed in Japan in Formula 3000, where he was active from 1989 to 1995. Krosnoff also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans several times, scoring second in 1994. In the 1996 season, he made eleven starts in the CART series, driving a Reynard-Toyota for Arciero-Wells Racing.

Death

On July 14, 1996, with four laps to go in the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, Krosnoff's car made wheel-to-wheel contact with the car of Stefan Johansson, sending it into the air, over a concrete barrier, and into the catch fencing lining the street course. The fence did not stop the car enough to keep it from hitting a tree which was outside the fence. The car then rotated into a light post which was located inside the fence near the tree.

The violence of the accident left the car broken in half and sent the cockpit section back across the track, and the race was ended ahead of time due to the amount of debris blocking the course. Even though the paramedics were there almost immediately, Krosnoff died instantly after his head struck the tree and then suffered major internal injuries when his car hit the light post. A track official, Gary Avrin, was also killed in the accident when he was struck by the right front wheel of Krosnoff's then-airborne car. Krosnoff was declared dead minutes later at a local hospital, with the cause of death being listed as "massive head and chest injuries, skeletal injuries, and complete cardiac arrest."

Career results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Japanese Top Formula Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts 1988 Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ NC 0 1989 Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ 12th 6 1990 Suntec Racing SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ 7th 13 1991 Suntec Racing SUZ AUT FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ FUJ 14th 6 1992 Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ AUT SUG FUJ FUJ SUZ FUJ FUJ NC 0 1993 Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ AUT SUG FUJ FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ 11th 6 1994 Giza Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN 16th 1 Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ FUJ FUJ SUZ 1995 Team 5Zigen SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ TOK FUJ SUZ NC 0

All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship results Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DC Pts 1991 TWR Suntec Jaguar Jaguar XJR-11 C1 FUJ FUJ FUJ SUZ SUG FUJ 18th 12 Jaguar XJR-14 SUG 1992 Nismo Nissan R92CP C1 SUZ FUJ FUJ SUG FUJ 9th 38 Nissan NP35 C MIN 6th 10

Complete JGTC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

American Open-Wheel racing results (key)

CART