Tom Cole (racing driver)

Tom Cole
Nationality British
American
BornThomas Lionel Howard Cole, Jr.
(1922-06-11)11 June 1922
Llandaff, South Glamorgan, Wales
Died14 June 1953(1953-06-14) (aged 31)
Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, Pays de la Loire, France
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years19501953
TeamsS. H. Allard, Scuderia Ferrari and Luigi Chinetti
Best finish3rd (1950)
Class wins1 (1950)

Thomas Lionel Howard Cole, Jr. (11 June 1922 – 14 June 1953), also known as Tom Cole or Tommy Cole, was a British-American racing driver and co-creator of the Cadillac-Allard sports car. Afflicted by childhood polio, he served in non-combat roles in World War II, and then took up rallying, hillclimbing, and sports car racing full-time after the war. He died, aged 31, in a crash while driving in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans.