Paul Frank Russo (April 10, 1914 – February 13, 1976) was an American

racing driver 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 ...

Racing career

Midget car career

Russo started racing

midget cars Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

in 1934. He went with a contingent of midget-car drivers to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in the winter of 1934–35.Biography
at the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway Angell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile () dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wiscons ...

He was the 1938

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Eastern Midget Champion. Russo won the first race held at the

Nutley Velodrome Nutley may refer to: People *Ben Nutley (born 1992), English rugby union player *Bobby Nutley (1916–1996), Scottish football (soccer) player *Colin Nutley (born 1944), English director *Danny Nutley (born 1974), Australian former rugby league fo ...

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in 1938. Russo was part of midget racing's "Chicago Gang" with

Emil Andres Emil William Andres (February 22, 1911 Tinley Park, Illinois – July 20, 1999 South Holland, Illinois) was an American racecar driver active during the 1930s and 1940s. Andres was part of the midget car racing " Chicago Gang" with Tony Bettenhaus ...

Tony Bettenhausen Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (September 12, 1916 – May 12, 1961) was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958. Bettenhausen was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express" in honor of his hometown. He was n ...

Duke Nalon Dennis "Duke" Nalon (March 2, 1913 – February 26, 2001) was an American midget car, sprint car, and Indy 500 driver from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Racing career Nalon began as a pit crew member for Wally Zale. Nalon occasionally warmed u ...

Cowboy O'Rourke A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

, Jimmy Snyder, and

Wally Zale Wally may refer to: Music * Wally (band), British prog rock band ** ''Wally'' (album), a 1974 album by Wally * ''La Wally'', an opera by Alfredo Catalani Other uses *Wally (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *WALLY, a propose ...

. These racers toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.

Indy car career

Russo drove in the

and USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

series, racing in the 1940–1941, 1946–1954, 1956–1959, and 1962 seasons with 81 starts, including 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 ...

every year excluding 1951 and 1952. He finished in the top ten 49 times, with two victories: at Springfield (1950) and Detroit (1951). He also won a non-points race at Williams Grove (1952). Russo's best finish in the Indianapolis 500 was fourth, in 1957 when he was at the wheel of a Novi Special. In 1955, Russo co-drove with

to a second-place finish. Russo's brother

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and nephew

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linu ...

also competed in

World Drivers' Championship career

The

/ USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...

from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards the

/ USAC

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Russo participated in eight World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He finished in the top three once, and set one fastest leader lap. He scored eight and one-half World Drivers' Championship points.

Death

On February 13, 1976, Russo died off the coast of Clearwater while in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

. Russo is buried at

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

Awards and honors

* Russo was inducted in the

in 1992.

Motorsports career results

AAA/USAC Championship Car results

* 1946 table only includes results of the six races run to "

championship car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

" specifications. Points total includes the 71 races run to " big car" specifications.

Indianapolis 500 results

* shared drive with

References

Paul Russo Dies, Ex-Racing Driver, February 18, 1976, The New York Times.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Paul 1914 births 1976 deaths Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis 500 drivers Sportspeople from Kenosha, Wisconsin USAC Championship Car drivers Racing drivers from Wisconsin American people of Italian descent