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Joel Thorne

Joel Thorne
Thorne, circa 1938
BornJoel Wolfe Thorne Jr.
(1914-10-16)October 16, 1914
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 1955(1955-10-17) (aged 41)
North Hollywood, California, U.S.
Champ Car career
8 races run over 12 years
Best finish5th (1940)
First race1936 Vanderbilt Cup (Westbury)
Last race1950 Pikes Peak Hill Climb
(Pikes Peak)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 0 0

Joel Wolfe Thorne Jr. (October 16, 1914 – October 17, 1955) was an American racing driver,[1][2] engineer, and playboy. Thorne raced his own cars in the Indianapolis 500, and later went on to attempt to design aircraft. He died after a plane crash in North Hollywood.

Racing career

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The 1946 Indianapolis 500 was won by a car owned by Thorne and driven by George Robson.[3] One of Thorne's cars also won the pole position and finished second in the 1939 Indianapolis 500 with Jimmy Snyder behind the wheel.[4]

Death

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Thorne died after crashing his private plane, during what witnesses described as "stunting",[5] into an apartment building, killing three residents including a two-month-old baby.[6][7]

Motorsports career results

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Indianapolis 500 results

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Joel Thorne". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  2. ^ Brown, Allen. "Joel Thorne". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  3. ^ "1946 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ "Prominent Racing Figure Is Injured". The Indianapolis Star. February 23, 1946. p. 14. Retrieved April 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ Big Spring Daily Herald, "Crash Victim made many headlines with escapades", page 16, Oct. 19th, 1955.
  6. ^ Mason City Globe-Gazette, "Plane Hits Apartment, Three Die", October 18th 1955, page 21
  7. ^ The Independent (Pasadena, California), "Playboy Plane Crash Ruled Not Fault Of Government". June 7th, 1957, page 22
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