Nicholas W. Craw

Armed with a Cum Laude degree in International Affairs from Princeton and an MBA in finance from Harvard, Craw’s career followed two quite different – but complementary — tracks.

Eight years as Director of Operations for the 15,000 ton hospital ship SS HOPE were followed by a presidential appointment as Director of the Peace Corps, where he looked after 7,400 volunteers in 69 countries. Later, he was selected to be President & CEO of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), with 55,000 members in 110 regions and 2,000 sanctioned amateur and professional events per year. While at SCCA, he was also a member of the ACCUS Board of Directors and was Chairman of its legislative arm, the National Motorsports Council. After 17 years, the longest tenure of any CEO in SCCA’s history, he later ran the national governing body of sailing, US SAILING, for four years before returning to motorsports as President & CEO of ACCUS in 2005.

Sandwiched into his business career, he began his motor racing in Formula Atlantic, turning professional after two short years and competing for Fred Opert Racing in the L & M Continental Championship, which took him all over the U. S. and abroad to Canada, Mexico, Japan, Colombia and the U. K. He also drove for Shierson Racing at the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours in a two litre Chevron. Switching to sedans, he brought BMW its first professional championship in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series. He repeated a second championship in 1975, leaving the series with the most wins of any driver.

Nearly twenty years after retiring from professional competition, he took up racing touring cars, winning the American Road Race of Champions and the Twenty Four Hours of Nelson’s Ledges twice.

In addition to his role as President of the Senate, Craw is also a member of the Statutes Review Commission, a Trustee of the FIA Foundation and a member of the Fund Management Committee of the FIA Institute, which approves grants from the Motor Sports Safety Development Fund. He remains President & CEO of ACCUS, coordinating FIA’s motor sport activities in the United States. ACCUS presently organizes three FIA World Championship events: F1 at Austin, Texas; WTTC at Sonoma, California; WEC at Austin, Texas.

ACCUS member clubs are NASCAR, NHRA, Indy Car, Grand Am, IMSA, SCCA and USAC.