professionally painted and detailed. Team members wore uniforms. At a time when most drivers drove their cars to the track, Kiekhaefer used the Mercury Marine box or "van" style trucks with the race cars sticking out the back due to their length. Multiple photos support this. The floors of the trucks had jacks built into them to support the cars on their frames so they would not ride on their wheel and axle bearings during transport to and from races. While not the first "superteam" in NASCAR history, the Mercury Marine team was legendary. The team raced five cars at most events during the 1956 season, and even fielded six cars at the 1956 Daytona Beach Road Course race. Road racing Kiekhaefer participated in the 1952 and 1953 Carrera Panamericana. In 1952 he entered Chrysler Saratogas with the hemi V8 in that light body. For 1953 the factory built Chrysler New Yorker Specials known as Pan Am models. Kiekhaefer entered four of these in the '53 race. Boating pioneer In 1957 Kiekhaefer introduced the Mark 75 motor, the industry's first 6-cylinder 60 hp (horsepower) outboard motor. Two Mark 75 motors set an endurance record by running for 34 days, 11 hours, 47 minutes, and 5.4 seconds nonstop and over 25,000 miles. The motors were refueled on the run, and averaged 30.3 (miles per hour). In 1961 Kiekhaefer Marine merged with the Brunswick Corporation. Later that year Kiekhaefer would use his NASCAR and boat engineering skills to develop the 100 hp stern drive engine now known as MerCruiser. Kiekhaefer resigned as president of the company in 1969, and the company name changed to Mercury Marine. In 1970 he founded Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors, building racing engines. After Carl's death, in 1983 his son Fred secured control of the company and took it out from the engine business focusing on propulsion hardware. In 1990 Kiekhaefer Aeromarine was sold to the Brunswick Corporation. Awards He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1998. He received the National Marine Manufacturers Association Awards Gallery 1988 Hall of Fame Award (in the first class). He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall Of Fame in 1980. In 1976 he received the 20th Annual Ole Evinrude Award for an "…immeasurable contribution to boating" from competitor Evinrude. References External links Carl Kiekhaefer at Motorsports Hall of Fame NASCAR.com article on Kiekhaefer's innovations Mercury