American racing driver (1901–1934)
Joseph Edward Russo (December 27, 1901 – June 10, 1934)[1] was an American racing driver active in the 1930s.
Life
Russo was known for performing a stunt of driving around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway blindfolded.[2][3]
Russo died in a hospital in Bristol, Pennsylvania after a crash at Langhorne Speedway.[4][5][6]
His son, Eddie Russo, and his brother, Paul Russo also competed in the Indianapolis 500.
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
| Year
|
Car
|
Start
|
Qual
|
Rank
|
Finish
|
Laps
|
Led
|
Retired
|
| 1931
|
41
|
16
|
104.822
|
29
|
24
|
109
|
0
|
Oil leak
|
| 1932
|
41
|
21
|
108.791
|
35
|
24
|
107
|
0
|
Rod
|
| 1933
|
18
|
31
|
112.531
|
20
|
17
|
192
|
0
|
Flagged
|
| 1934
|
16
|
24
|
113.115
|
18
|
5
|
200
|
0
|
Running
|
| Totals
|
608
|
0
|
|
|
| Starts
|
4
|
| Poles
|
0
|
| Front Row
|
0
|
| Wins
|
0
|
| Top 5
|
1
|
| Top 10
|
1
|
| Retired
|
2
|
|
References
- ^ "Motorsport Memorial - Joe Russo". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ Sturm, William F. (May 14, 1931). "Fair Weather Sends Speed Jobs Breezing Over Bricks". The Indianapolis News. p. 27. Retrieved April 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Davidson, Donald (May 24, 1999). "Even blindfolded, Joe Russo could find his way around IMS". SpeedNet. Archived from the original on August 27, 1999. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ^ "Auto Racer Dies, Bride by His Side". Reading Times. June 11, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved June 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Auto Racer Killed at Langhorne Track". The Wilkes-Barre Record. June 11, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved June 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Three-time Indianapolis 500 racer Eddie Russo dies at 86, autoweek.com
