Joel Thorne

American racing driver (1914–1955)
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

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]

A small plane piloted by wealthy playboy Joel W Thorne crashed into a two-story apartment house Monday night bringing flaming death to himself and two others — one a newly christened baby. Nine persons were injured including the infant's parents who were holding a christening party. Two other children were critically burned. Thorne' single-engine plans plummeted out of the overcast less than 12 minutes after taking off from Lockheed Air Terminal in nearby Burbank. An eyewitness said a wing dropped off before the craft plunged into the building. A small plane piloted by wealthy playboy Joel W Thorne crashed into a two-story apartment house Monday night bringing flaming death to himself and two others — one a newly christened baby. Nine persons were injured including the infant's parents who were holding a christening party. Two other children were critically burned. Thorne' single-engine plans plummeted out of the overcast less than 12 minutes after taking off from Lockheed Air Terminal in nearby Burbank. An eyewitness said a wing dropped off before the craft plunged into the building. [8]

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

References

  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
  8. ^ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/204297736/joel_wolfe-thorne

External links

  • Joel Thorne at IMDb