Tom Jones

Earl Thomas "Tom" Jones (26 April 1943 - Present): American racing driver who entered his own Cooper T82 in one Formula One race, the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix, before being denied a place on the grid by stewards who judged him "too slow" despite showing promising practice pace. Born in Dallas, Texas, Jones was an American amateur racer who purchased a Cooper T82 Formula One car with ambitions to compete at the highest level. His single Formula One attempt came at the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park. During practice, Jones showed promising performance, setting competitive lap times that suggested he might qualify successfully for the race.

His practice pace encouraged hopes that he could make the grid despite being a privateer entry without factory support. However, during official qualifying, Jones suffered electrical problems with his Cooper T82 that severely compromised his ability to set a competitive lap time. He managed to complete only one very slow qualifying lap before the electrical issues forced him to stop. This single slow lap left him at the bottom of the timing sheets, far from the pace necessary to qualify.

Despite his promising practice performance earlier in the weekend, the stewards made the controversial decision to deny Jones a place on the grid based on his slow qualifying lap, judging him "too slow" to compete safely in the race. This decision ended Jones' Formula One career before he ever started a World Championship race. The stewards' ruling was harsh given Jones' practice pace, which had demonstrated that the electrical problems rather than driver ability caused his slow qualifying time. In an era when grids were sometimes filled with slow privateer entries, the decision to exclude Jones appeared particularly strict.

After his exclusion from the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix, Jones never returned to Formula One. His brief involvement in the sport ended with one race entry, one practice session showing promise, and a controversial exclusion from qualifying that prevented him from ever starting a World Championship race. Jones' experience highlights the challenges faced by privateer entrants during the 1960s, when purchasing an outdated Formula One car and attempting to qualify without factory support required not only speed but also flawless reliability and some good fortune with race stewards' decisions. Known for: Being denied a place on the grid at the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix despite promising practice pace, suffering electrical problems during qualifying that resulted in only one very slow lap, stewards judging him "too slow" to compete, and never starting a Formula One World Championship race.