This article documents the status of

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

s in the 1950s.

United States

*Due to the rising popularity of

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

, the new Strictly Stock Series is established as the Grand National. The series becomes phenomenally popular, and attracts numerous domestic manufacturers. *The Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Thunderbird become the first true American sports cars. Late in the decade, the Corvette would adopt a V8 engine and become heavily competitive in endurance racing. *The Indianapolis 500 is added to the new grand prix schedule. It is later replaced with a United States Grand Prix in 1959.Race card archive
/ref> *Racing legend

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...

debuts in 1958. *The SCCA National Sports Car Championship was first contested in 1951, America's first championship for sports cars. *The

Twelve Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second ro ...

is first held * NASCAR legend

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

debuts *Debut of racing legend A. J. Foyt in

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

*The Hudson Hornet is dominant in NASCAR *The National Hot Rod Association is founded as a professional organization for

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

* Daytona International Speedway opens * Riverside International Raceway opens. It will last until the 1980s when it will close * Laguna Seca Raceway opens *The original

Daytona Beach Road Course The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set. Beach and ro ...

closes

Europe

Grand prix racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised auto racing, automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple Road racing, road races from one town to the next, to End ...

returns after World War II temporarily halts automobile production. The new grand prix series is known as Formula One. *The debut of racing legend

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

.Driver profile. Stirling Moss
/ref> *The establishment of the

World Sports Car Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and N ...

, composed mainly of endurance races such as the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. *The beginnings of the British Saloon Car Championship, now the British Touring Car Championship. *The Mille Miglia is last held after thirty years. *The

Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...

debuts in 1958 *The

Dutch Grand Prix The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...

is first held in 1955 *The Spanish Grand Prix is first held in 1951 *The Porsche 550 Spyder and Porsche 356 are introduced, competitive in motorsport *The Maserati Birdcage is introduced as a competitive racing prototype *The

Jaguar D-Type The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car that was produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Designed specifically to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, it shared the straight-6 XK engine and many mechanical components with its C-Type ...

is introduced as a competitive racecar *The Lotus Eleven is introduced for motorsport *The original Mini debuts. It is competitive in touring car racing. *The original Volkswagen Beetle debuts, becoming competitive in touring car racing *The

Triumph TR The Triumph TR range of cars was built between 1953 and 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom. Changes from the TR2 to the TR6 were mostly evolutionary, with a change from a live axle to independent rear suspension in 1965 and a ...

is introduced *The

MG A The MGA is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1955 until 1962. The MGA replaced the MG TF 1500 Midget and represented a complete styling break from MG's earlier sports cars. Announced on 26 September 1955 the car was officially launched ...

is introduced * Dino is introduced as a brand of

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

wins a then-record five Formula One drivers championships, driving for Alfa Romeo

Australia

*The rise of famous racer and race car builder Jack Brabham.

South America

*The Carrera Panamericana is held from 1950-1954 *The Argentine Grand Prix debuts in 1953 as the first F1 race in South America

Africa

*The

Moroccan Grand Prix The Moroccan Grand Prix (Arabic: سباق الجائزة الكبرى المغربي) was a Grand Prix first organised in 1925 in Casablanca, Morocco with the official denomination of "Casablanca Grand Prix". History In 1930, the race was held ...

, the first F1 race to be held in Africa, is held in 1958

References