Joel Wolfe Thorne Jr. (October 16, 1914 – October 17, 1955) was an American racing driver, 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. One of Thorne's cars also won the pole position and finished second in the 1939 Indianapolis 500 with Jimmy Snyder behind the wheel.
Death
Thorne died after crashing his private plane, during what witnesses described as "stunting",Big Spring Daily Herald, "Crash Victim made many headlines with escapades", page 16, Oct. 19th, 1955. into an apartment building, killing three residents including a two-month-old baby. His net worth was reportedly $100,000 at his time of death in 1955, this equates to about $1.2 million today.Mason City Globe-Gazette, "Plane Hits Apartment, Three Die", October 18th 1955, page 21The Independent (Pasadena, California), "Playboy Plane Crash Ruled Not Fault Of Government". June 7th, 1957, page 22
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired19382213119.1552391850Flagged1939820122.1772372000Running1940810122.4342051970Flagged1941523121.163243150Crash T1Totals5870
Starts4Poles0Front Row0Wins0Top 51Top 103Retired1
See also
Frank Kurtis
References
External links