Although irrelevant to the World Championship, the Indianapolis 500 remained part of the Formula 1 World Championship although in 1954 no European teams entered the event. Jack McGrath was fastest in qualifying in his Hinkle Special, becoming the first man to break the 140mph barrier. In the early laps he was chased by Jimmy Bryan in his Dean Van Lines Special. In the early laps Bill Vukovich worked his way through the field and he took the lead in the mid-race and he went on to win by nearly a lap, recording his second straight Indianapolis 500 victory in his Fuel Injection Special.