Paul Russo was an American racecar driver.
Midget car career
He started racing
midget carsMidget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, are very small race cars with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four-cylinder engines.-Cars:Typically, these cars have 300 to 400 horsepower and weigh...
in 1934. He went with a contingent of midget-car drivers to
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in the winter of 1934-35. He was the 1938
AAAAAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
Eastern Midget Champion. Russo won the first race held at the Nutley Velodrome in
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1938.
Russo was part of midget racing's "Chicago Gang" with
Emil AndresEmil Andres was an American racecar driver active during the 1930's and 1940's....
,
Tony BettenhausenMelvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958....
,
Duke NalonDennis "Duke" Nalon was a midget car, sprint car, and Indy 500 driver from Chicago, Illinois, United States.-Racing career:...
, Cowboy O'Rourke,
Jimmy SnyderJimmy Snyder was an American racecar driver.Snyder was part of the midget car "Chicago Gang" with Emil Andres, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O'Rourke, Paul Russo, and Wally Zale. They toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.Snyder won the 1937 track championship at the Chicago...
, and Wally Zale.
Championship car career
He drove in the
AAAAAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
and
USACThe United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
Championship Car series, racing in the 1940-1941, 1946–1954, 1956–1959 and 1962 seasons with 85 starts, including the
Indianapolis 500The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
races in each year but 1951 and 1952. He finished in the top ten 49 times, with 3 victories, at Springfield (1950), Detroit (1951), and Williams Grove (1952). His best finish at Indy was fourth in 1957, although he co-drove with
Tony BettenhausenMelvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958....
to a second-place finish in 1955.
His brother
JoeJoe Russo was an American racecar driver active in the 1930s. He was killed in a crash at Langhorne Speedway....
and nephew
EddieEddie Russo is a retired American racecar driver.Russo won the midget car racing track championship Raceway Park in Chicago in 1950. Russo raced in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series in the 1952-1957 and 1960 seasons, with 21 career starts, including 3 times in the Indianapolis 500...
have also raced at the Indianapolis 500.
Russo died on February 13, 1976 off the coast of Clearwater while in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for the
Daytona 500The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
.
Indy 500 results
| Year |
Car |
Start |
Qual |
Rank |
Finish |
Laps |
Led |
Retired |
| 1940 The 28th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the number one car Maserati 8 CTF, the same car Shaw had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of the race to win in consecutive years. It also marked Shaw's third...
|
38 |
29 |
120.809 |
29 |
28 |
48 |
0 |
Oil leak |
| 1941 Results of the 1941 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Friday, May 30, 1941.Notes*Floyd Davis was the starting driver for the #16 car. On lap 72, Davis came in for a pit stop, and was relieved by Mauri Rose. Rose had started the race in another car and dropped out earlier. Rose went on to...
|
45 |
18 |
125.217 |
5 |
9 |
200 |
0 |
Running |
| 1946 Results of the 1946 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Thursday, May 30, 1946....
|
10 |
2 |
126.183 |
4 |
33 |
16 |
0 |
Crash T3 |
| 1947 Results of the 1947 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Friday, May 30, 1947.Late in the race, Lou Moore teammates Bill Holland and Mauri Rose were running 1st-2nd. The pit crew displayed a confusing chalkboard sign with the letters "EZY" to Holland, presumably meaning for him to take the...
|
15 |
21 |
123.967 |
8 |
28 |
24 |
0 |
Crash FS |
| 1948 Results of the 1948 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday, May 31, 1948....
|
25 |
25 |
122.595 |
29 |
32 |
7 |
0 |
Oil leak |
| 1949 Results of the 1949 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday, May 30, 1949....
|
19 |
19 |
129.487 |
5 |
8 |
200 |
0 |
Running |
| 1950 The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race which was held on Tuesday, May 30, 1950 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship...
|
7 |
19 |
130.790 |
18 |
9 |
135 |
0 |
Running |
| 1953 The 1953 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Saturday, May 30, 1953 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the second round of the 1953 World Drivers' Championship.-Race:...
|
7 |
17 |
136.219 |
16 |
25 |
89 |
0 |
Magneto |
| 1954 The 1954 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Monday, May 31, 1954 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the second round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :...
|
5 |
32 |
137.678 |
32 |
8 |
200 |
0 |
Running |
| 1955 The 1955 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Monday, May 30, 1955 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship...
* |
10 |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
? |
? |
Running |
| 1956 The 1956 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Wednesday, May 30, 1956 at Indianapolis. It was the third round of the 1956 World Drivers' Championship....
|
29 |
8 |
143.546 |
10 |
33 |
21 |
11 |
Crash T1 |
| 1957 The 1957 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Thursday, May 30, 1957 at Indianapolis. The event was the third round of the 1957 World Drivers' Championship and the first round of the 1957 USAC Championship Car season.- Classification :- Notes :...
|
54 |
10 |
144.817 |
1 |
4 |
200 |
24 |
Running |
| 1958 The 1958 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Friday, May 30, 1958 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the fourth round of the 1958 World Drivers' Championship....
|
15 |
14 |
142.959 |
18 |
18 |
122 |
0 |
Radiator |
| 1959 The 1959 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held at Indianapolis on Saturday, May 30, 1959. The event was part of the 1959 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :*Fastest Lead Lap: Johnny Thomson - 1:01.89...
|
45 |
27 |
142.383 |
22 |
9 |
200 |
0 |
Running |
| 1962 Results of the 1962 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Wednesday, May 30, 1962.-Trivia:Parnelli Jones became the first driver to officially qualify for the race at ....
|
62 |
14 |
146.687 |
20 |
28 |
20 |
0 |
Piston |
| Totals |
1482 |
35 |
|
|
| Starts |
14 |
| Poles |
0 |
| Front Row |
1 |
| Wins |
0 |
| Top 5 |
1 |
| Top 10 |
6 |
| Retired |
8 |
|
* shared drive with
Tony BettenhausenMelvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958....
World Championship career summary
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Paul Russo participated in 8 World Championship races. He set 1 fastest lead lap, finished on the podium once and accumulated a total of 8.5 World Championship points.
External links