Please read the following table in HTML format from a webpage and then answer the question in detail according to the table. Each table cell is defined by a <td> and a </td> tag. Each table row starts with a <tr> and ends with a </tr> tag. 'rowspan=m' and 'colspan=n' represents a cell spaning over 'm' rows and 'n' columns.

Webpage title:
1954 NASCAR Grand National Series
Table title:
Final championship standings
Table:
<table id='hittask' contenteditable='False'>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Position </th><th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Driver </th><th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Points </th><th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Behind </th></tr>
<tr> <th class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1 </th><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Lee Petty </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 8,649 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – </td></tr>
<tr> <th class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 2 </th><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Herb Thomas </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 8,366 </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > –283 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 3 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Buck Baker </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 6,893 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > –1,756 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 4 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Dick Rathman </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 6,760 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – 1,889 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 5 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Joe Eubanks </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 5,467 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > –3,182 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 6 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Hershel McGriff </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 5,137 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – 3,512 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 7 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Jim Paschal </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 3,903 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – 4,746 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 8 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Jimmie Lewallen </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 3,233 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – 5,416 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 9 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Curtis Turner </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 2,994 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – 5,655 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 10 </th><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Ralph Liguori </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 2,905 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > – 5,744 </td></tr>
<tr> <th colspan=4 rowspan=1 > Source: </th></tr>
</table>
Question:
Who were the top two finishers in the 1954 NASCAR Grand National Series, and what was the point margin between the two?
Answer:
Petty finishing above Thomas proved to be the deciding factor in winning the championship with a 283-point margin.