• Entrepreneur Carl Kiekhaefer, a Mercury Outboard magnate from Wisconsin, enters Grand National competition as a car owner.

• With driver Tim Flock, Kiekhaefer wins his first outing at Daytona Beach, Fla. Kiekhaefer's race cars are carried from race-to-race in covered transporters.

• Kiekhaefer's Chryslers immediately are regarded as the team to beat. Sales of new Chryslers skyrocket across the country.

• In response, Chevrolet and Ford set up "factory teams" to compete with Kiekhaefer's unit.

• Major advertisements appear in magazines and newspapers featuring Grand National racing. In late spring, Chrysler prepares a two-page spread in national magazines picturing Chrysler driver Lee Petty, his wife Elizabeth and children Richard and Maurice. It is the first time Richard Petty appears in a national advertisement, three years before he drove in his first race.

• Herb Thomas wins the 100-mile Grand National event on Raleigh Speedway's high-banked mile oval. It is the first superspeedway race run under the lights.

• Tim Flock wins a record 18 Grand National races en route to the 1955 championship. Team owner Carl Kiekhaefer wins the title in his first season.