🇺🇸 Cliff Griffith

Cliff Griffith was an American racing driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1951 and 1956, accumulating three starts for the Stevens team without recording a win or podium finish. His racing record places him at the established professional level; his rating of 5,244 indicates a driver capable of sustained competition among full-time professionals, though his limited opportunity in Formula 1 provides little scope to demonstrate that capability at the highest level.[1]

The calibre of drivers Griffith encountered in his three starts was substantial. He finished ahead of Jack McGrath on one occasion and outpaced Eddie Johnson twice; both drivers rated above 7,100, placing them among the world's leading professionals of the era. He also beat Johnnie Parsons and Jimmy Bryan, drivers of comparable standing, each once. His average finishing position of P9.5 across his classified starts suggests he was competitive within the field he faced, despite the lack of championship results. Griffith raced twice for Kurtis Kraft, a constructor that accumulated five race wins across its 87 drivers and fielded Duane Carter, a driver of elite professional standard.

Griffith's racing career was brief and his Formula 1 opportunity limited, but his wins against drivers of established professional and elite status in that context suggest he was a capable competitor of his era, remembered in particular as a notable figure from Nineveh, Indiana, a small town that produced an unusual concentration of racing talent.