Jeffery Edwin Freeman, "Jeff" Freeman as he was known, was considered one of Australia's greatest midget drivers in the early 1960s. He had a special brand of aggression in his driving, and natural raw ability always keeping on top of his rivals and never gave them an even break. While competing at Sydney Showground he showed the art of wheel-banging, earning respect from fellow competitors.
During his career Jeff Freeman won 34 feature races across Australia, and also at the Western Springs Speedway in New Zealand. Winner of the Australian Grand Prix in 1965, he captured the 1964 1/4-mile Australian Championship in Brisbane, and was the holder of the 6-lap track record at Windsor Speedway, and the 3, 25, and 30-lap records at the Sydney Showground, where he won 19 times over a total of 107 feature race starts.
Jeff Freeman suffered a fatal accident at the age of 27, on the ninth lap of the feature race organized by Stockcar Promotions on Mother's day, 09 May 1965, at Westmead Speedway, Sydney, NSW, Australia. He crashed cockpit first into the safety fence, being killed almost instantly.
Freeman was driving one of the Mackay - Offenhauser American midgets owned by Don Mackay, who lost both his drivers in fatal crashes in just three months, Nick Collier was killed at Sydney's Speedway Royale on 27 February 1965.
Two months after Freeman's death, another fatal accident occured at the Westmead Speedway, when Tony Burke crashed during a midget race on 18 July 1965, and passed away after seven days at hospital.
