Joel Thorne

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.

Joel Thorne
Thorne, circa 1938
Born	Joel Wolfe Thorne Jr. (1914-10-16)October 16, 1914 New York, New York, U.S.
Died	October 17, 1955(1955-10-17) (aged 41) North Hollywood, California, U.S.
Champ Car career
8 races run over 12 years
Best finish	5th (1940)
First race	1936 Vanderbilt Cup (Westbury)
Last race	1950 Pikes Peak Hill Climb (Pikes Peak)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0

Racing career

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

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

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1938 22 13 119.155 23 9 185 0 Flagged 1939 8 20 122.177 23 7 200 0 Running 1940 8 10 122.434 20 5 197 0 Flagged 1941 5 23 121.163 24 31 5 0 Crash T1 Totals 587 0

Starts 4 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 1 Top 10 3 Retired 1

See also

• Frank Kurtis