Joel W. Thorne (16 October 1914
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
– 17 October 1955
North Hollywood, California
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
) was an American
racecar
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
driver, engineer, and playboy. He died when he crashed his private plane, after what witnesses described as "stunting", into an apartment building, killing three residents including a two-month-old baby. Thorne raced his own cars is the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, and later went on to attempt to design aircraft.
The
1946 Indianapolis 500
The 30th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1946. This was the first Indianapolis 500 presided over by new track owner Tony Hulman. The track had closed in late 1941 due to World War ...
was won by a car built by Thorne and driven by
George Robson.
One of Thorne's cars also won the pole position and finished second in the
1939 Indianapolis 500
The 27th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1939. The race was won by the number two car of Wilbur Shaw, who started in the third position, driving a Maserati 8CTF. The race was notable ...
with
Jimmy Snyder behind the wheel.
Indianapolis 500 results
See also
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Frank Kurtis Frank Peter Kurtis (born Kuretich; January 25, 1908 – February 17, 1987) was an American racing car designer. He designed and built midget cars, quarter-midgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, and Formula One cars. He was the founder of K ...
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Davis Motorcar Company
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Davis Divan
References
External links
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1914 births
1955 deaths
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
Accidental deaths in California
Racing drivers from New York City
AAA Championship Car drivers
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