Crashed early in the race (5)
I believe the answer is:
relay
'race' is the definition.
(relay race)
'crashed early' is the wordplay.
'crashed' is an anagram indicator.
'early' with letters rearranged gives 'RELAY'.
'in the' is the link.
(Other definitions for relay that I've seen before include "Broadcast" , "supplementary store of anything" , "Pass on - put down again" , "Receive and pass on - race" , "track event" .)