As I mentioned at the end of last week, I'll be heading to Indy Thursday for my annual renewal of vows with the sport's greatest race. I certainly don’t have to tell any of you just how amazing and special the event is to historians of the sport like us, but its arrival on my travel itinerary this week is truly appropriate timing for today's topic.

Though I haven’t closed the door on the ramp-truck thread, the cargo on that one seems all but loaded, and all that remains is for it to be strapped down to the bed with a few final thoughts, so it's a good time to foist upon you a heavy load of a different kind.

Everyone knows that some of the sport's greatest moments have taken place at the Nationals over its 56-year run – and, as Todd Veney pointed out to me yesterday, this year's race is the 50th to actually take place at Indy – and who knows exactly what bit of history this year's event might produce. I noted in last week's National DRAGSTER that Top Alcohol Funny Car wunderkind Frank Manzo has the chance to win his 10th U.S. Nationals crown and become the event's all-time winningest driver (breaking his tie with Bob Glidden) and that Tony Schumacher has the opportunity to win his ninth in Top Fuel, which would break his tie with Don Garlits as the race's winningest Top Fuel driver, but who knows what else might happen that someday will be high in the sport's great lore.

And thus comes the crux of today's column: What is the single greatest moment in NHRA history?

I ask not solely for discussion purposes here but as part of an assignment I have for NHRA's gala 60th Anniversary celebration next year. As part of the festivities, the National DRAGSTER staff has been given the unenviable (or enviable, depending on how you look at it) task of creating a top 60 list of the greatest moments in NHRA history. Having been a part of several similar lists (for both the U.S. Nationals and World Finals as well as this column's popular Favorite Race Car Ever poll of a few years ago), I well know that one's man's beer is another man's champagne and that tastes don’t always run down the same track.

In 2001, during NHRA's 50th Anniversary celebration, I created an expert panel of drag racing historians and journalists to determine the Top 50 Drivers of NHRA's first 50 years, and though some thought was given to expanding that list to 60, it became too problematic. For example, Schumacher was not on that list, and some could argue that today he belongs in the top 10 or 20. Ditto for Larry Dixon. Would we drop everyone below them down one or two spots? What if there were more than 10 additions? Would someone from the original list be bumped? It just didn’t feel right – maybe for the 75th anniversary we look at the list again -- so the project became greatest moments.

One thing I've learned from this whole top 10 business is that opinions are skewed by personal experience – you were there to see it or remember how it impacted your life – and by the context of the event that you place it in. A low e.t. pass may not be significant, for example, unless it wins you the championship, or a guy shaving his beard on the starting line may not mean squat unless you know why he was doing it.

Earlier this year, the DRAGSTER staff created several top 10 lists, among them one of most memorable moments, and though one might think that our work is partially complete because of that, I disagree. The top 10 we created (and the 10 honorable mentions) was the result of six staffers sitting for hours in a conference room debating the minutiae of these moments, and many of the votes were cast out of emotion as well as facts.

I'm not going to share that list here (oh, sure, you could go into your library and look it up) so as not to taint the atmosphere and to allow everyone to start with a clean mental sheet of paper. Additionally, our list was "most memorable" and this list is "greatest," so there's probably a dividing line there somewhere.

So, what makes a moment great? Is it because of the heroics of the principals? Is it the moment's longstanding impact on the sport? Is it a triumph of human spirit over impossible odds? Is it an iconic moment that even the most casual of racing fans will know?

Furthermore, this greatest-moments list is not limited to happenings on the racetrack. Where does the founding of NHRA come in? Or other occurrences in boardrooms or on the sponsorship front?

If I had those answers, I wouldn't be here asking the question of the greatest, most knowledgeable, and most plugged-in fans of our sport's history.

So here it is, Insider Nation: What is the greatest moment in the history of NHRA? E-mail me your thoughts – heck, create a top 60 list if you’re up to it – and have your opinion mean something.

What's the greatest moment in NHRA history?

I'll look forward to your input and may share some of it in future columns.