| Joel Thorne | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Thorne, circa 1938 | |||||||
| Born | Joel Wolfe Thorne Jr. October 16, 1914 New York, New York, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | October 17, 1955 (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) | ||||||
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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
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See also
References
- ^ "Joel Thorne". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ Brown, Allen. "Joel Thorne". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ "1946 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^
- ^ Big Spring Daily Herald, "Crash Victim made many headlines with escapades", page 16, Oct. 19th, 1955.
- ^ Mason City Globe-Gazette, "Plane Hits Apartment, Three Die", October 18th 1955, page 21
- ^ The Independent (Pasadena, California), "Playboy Plane Crash Ruled Not Fault Of Government". June 7th, 1957, page 22
- ^ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/204297736/joel_wolfe-thorne
External links
- Joel Thorne at IMDb
This page was last edited on 21 June 2024, at 23:40