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{{Short description|American racing driver (1914–1955)}}
'''Joel W. Thorne''' (16 October 1914 [[New York City]] &ndash; 17 October 1955 [[North Hollywood, California]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[racecar]] driver, engineer, and playboy. He died when he crashed his private plane, after what witnesses described as "stunting",<ref>Big Spring Daily Herald, "Crash Victim made many headlines with escapades", page 16, Oct. 19th, 1955.</ref> into an apartment building, killing eight residents including a two-month-old baby.<ref>Mason City Globe-Gazette, "Plane Hits Apartment, Three Die", October 18th 1955, page 21</ref><ref>The Independent (Pasadena, California), "Playboy Plane Crash Ruled Not Fault Of Government". June 7th, 1957, page 22</ref> Thorne raced his own cars is the [[Indianapolis 500]], and later went on to attempt to design aircraft.
{{Infobox racing driver
| name = Joel Thorne
| image = Joel Thorne 1938.jpg
| caption = Thorne, circa 1938
| birth_name = Joel Wolfe Thorne Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|10|16}}
| birth_place = [[New York, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1955|10|17|1914|10|16}}
| death_place = [[North Hollywood, California]], U.S.
| module1 =
{{Infobox Champ Car driver|embed=yes
| Total_Champ_Races = 8
| Years_In_Champ = 12
| Best_Champ_Pos = 5th ([[1940 AAA Championship Car season|1940]])
| First_Champ_Race = [[1936 AAA Championship Car season|1936]] [[1936 Vanderbilt Cup|Vanderbilt Cup]] ([[Roosevelt Raceway|Westbury]])
| Last_Champ_Race = [[1950 AAA Championship Car season|1950]] Pikes Peak Hill Climb <br/> ([[Pikes Peak Hill Climb|Pikes Peak]])
| Champ_Wins = 0
| Champ_Podiums = 0
| Champ_Poles = 0
}}}}


'''Joel Wolfe Thorne Jr.''' (October 16, 1914 – October 17, 1955) was an American [[racing driver]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joel Thorne |url=http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/ThorneJoel.htm |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=www.champcarstats.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Allen |title=Joel Thorne |url=https://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Joel_Thorne |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=OldRacingCars.com |language=en}}</ref> 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]].
The [[1946 Indianapolis 500]] was won by a car built by Thorne and driven by [[George Robson (racing driver)|George Robson]].<ref>[http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1946]</ref> One of Thorne's cars also won the pole position and finished second in the [[1939 Indianapolis 500]] with [[Jimmy Snyder (racing driver)|Jimmy Snyder]] behind the wheel.<ref name="Star02-23-1946">{{cite news|title=Prominent Racing Figure Is Injured|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4844059/joel_w_thorne/|newspaper=The Indianapolis Star|page=14|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=February 23, 1946|accessdate=April 5, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref>

== Racing career ==

The [[1946 Indianapolis 500]] was won by a car owned by Thorne and driven by [[George Robson (racing driver)|George Robson]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1946 |title=1946 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500 |access-date=2008-06-11 |archive-date=2008-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514014834/http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1946 |url-status=dead }}</ref> One of Thorne's cars also won the pole position and finished second in the [[1939 Indianapolis 500]] with [[Jimmy Snyder (racing driver)|Jimmy Snyder]] behind the wheel.<ref name="Star02-23-1946">{{cite news|title=Prominent Racing Figure Is Injured|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4844059/joel_w_thorne/|newspaper=The Indianapolis Star|page=14|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=February 23, 1946|accessdate=April 5, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref>

== Death ==

Thorne died after crashing his private plane, during what witnesses described as "stunting",<ref>Big Spring Daily Herald, "Crash Victim made many headlines with escapades", page 16, Oct. 19th, 1955.</ref> into an apartment building, killing three residents including a two-month-old baby.<ref>Mason City Globe-Gazette, "Plane Hits Apartment, Three Die", October 18th 1955, page 21</ref><ref>The Independent (Pasadena, California), "Playboy Plane Crash Ruled Not Fault Of Government". June 7th, 1957, page 22</ref>

== Motorsports career results ==

=== Indianapolis 500 results ===


==Indianapolis 500 results==
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==See also==
== See also ==
*[[Frank Kurtis]]
*[[Davis Motorcar Company]]
*[[Davis Divan]]


* [[Frank Kurtis]]
==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
== References ==

*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0861394 Joel Thorne at IMDB]
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{IMDb name|0861394}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Joel}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Joel}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:American racing drivers]]
[[Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers]]
[[Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in California]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in California]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from New York]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from New York City]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:AAA Championship Car drivers]]
[[Category:AAA Championship Car drivers]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1955]]


{{US-autoracing-bio-stub}}

Latest revision as of 05:18, 9 September 2024

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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]

Motorsports career results

[edit]

Indianapolis 500 results

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  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
[edit]