Paul Russo

Paul Russo (born 10 April 1914 in Kenosha, died 13 February 1976 in Clearwater) was an American racing driver. With one of the longest Indianapolis 500 careers, spanning from 1940 to 1962, Russo entered the race 10 times while it was considered a World Championship round. He scored a podium, shared with Tony Bettenhausen, and 8.5 points, scoring one fastest lap.

The 1938 AAA Eastern Midget Car champion, he began racing in the AAA championship in 1940, and only retired in 1965 after his 100th entry. He scored 15 podiums including two victories in 1950 and 1951, with an overall best championship result of fifth position in 1953.

Complete Formula One results

Regular championship

(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Points
1950	Paul Russo & Ray Nichels	Nichels	Offenhauser L4	GBR	MON	500 9	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA					NC	0
1951	Kennedy Tank	Nichels	Offenhauser L4	SUI	500 DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP				NC	0
1952	Lutes Truck Parts	Kurtis Kraft 4000	Offenhauser L4	SUI	500 DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA				NC	0
1953	Grancor-Elgin Piston Pin Federal Engineering*	Kurtis Kraft 500B Kurtis Kraft 3000*	Offenhauser L4	ARG	500 4 †	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			=18th	1.5
1954	Ansted Rotary/Hoosier Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500A	Offenhauser L4	ARG	500 8 ‡	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			NC	0
1955	H.A. Chapman Wolcott Fuel Injection*	Kurtis Kraft 500C Kurtis Kraft 500A*	Offenhauser L4 Offenhauser L4s	ARG	MON	500 2 џ	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					=13th	3
1956	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500F	Novi L8s	ARG	MON	500 Ret	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				27th	1
1957	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500F	Novi L8s	ARG	MON	500 4	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				17th	3
1958	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500F	Novi L8s	ARG	MON	NED	500 Ret	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0
1959	Bardahl/Fred Gerhardt Novi Racing*	Kurtis Kraft 500G Kurtis Kraft 500F*	Offenhauser L4 Novi L8s*	MON	500 9	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	USA			NC	0

* Drivers often drove for two teams at once in the Indy 500. In 1953, Russo had retired from the race in his original car, but was asked to relieve Fred Agabashian, leading the car to fourth place. In 1955, he failed to qualify his main car and was hired by H.A. Chapman as relief driver for Tony Bettenhausen. In 1959, he failed to qualify his main car and was hired by Bardahl and Fred Gerhardt to drive in the race.

† Denotes shared drive with Fred Agabashian after retiring his own car.
‡ Denotes shared drive with Jerry Hoyt.
џ Denotes shared drive with Tony Bettenhausen.

Champion Elimination Medals Championship

(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Wins	2nd	3rd	Points
1950	Paul Russo & Ray Nichels	Nichels	Offenhauser L4	GBR	MON	500 9	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA					NC	0	0	0	0
1951	Kennedy Tank	Nichels	Offenhauser L4	SUI	500 DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP				NC	0	0	0	0
1952	Lutes Truck Parts	Kurtis Kraft 4000	Offenhauser L4	SUI	500 DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA				NC	0	0	0	0
1953	Grancor-Elgin Piston Pin Federal Engineering*	Kurtis Kraft 500B Kurtis Kraft 3000*	Offenhauser L4	ARG	500 4 †	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			=22nd	0	0	0	1.5
1954	Ansted Rotary/Hoosier Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500A	Offenhauser L4	ARG	500 8 ‡	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			NC	0	0	0	0
1955	H.A. Chapman Wolcott Fuel Injection*	Kurtis Kraft 500C Kurtis Kraft 500A*	Offenhauser L4 Offenhauser L4s	ARG	MON	500 2 џ	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					=10th	0	0.5	0	3
1956	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500F	Novi L8s	ARG	MON	500 Ret	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				28th	0	0	0	1
1957	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500F	Novi L8s	ARG	MON	500 4	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				=16th	0	0	0	3
1958	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft 500F	Novi L8s	ARG	MON	NED	500 Ret	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0	0	0	0
1959	Bardahl/Fred Gerhardt Novi Racing*	Kurtis Kraft 500G Kurtis Kraft 500F*	Offenhauser L4 Novi L8s*	MON	500 9	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	USA			NC	0	0	0	0

* Drivers often drove for two teams at once in the Indy 500. In 1953, Russo had retired from the race in his original car, but was asked to relieve Fred Agabashian, leading the car to fourth place. In 1955, he failed to qualify his main car and was hired by H.A. Chapman as relief driver for Tony Bettenhausen. In 1959, he failed to qualify his main car and was hired by Bardahl and Fred Gerhardt to drive in the race.

† Denotes shared drive with Fred Agabashian after retiring his own car.
‡ Denotes shared drive with Jerry Hoyt.
џ Denotes shared drive with Tony Bettenhausen.