60 Greatest Moments, 60th Anniversary Wally unveiled during Charlotte press conference NHRA President Tom Compton, left, was joined at the unveiling by, from left, Shirley Muldowney, Larry Dixon, and Marcus Smith NHRA President Tom Compton gave a preview of the plans for NHRA’s 60th Anniversary season to more than 100 media members assembled this morning as part of the annual NASCAR Media Tour in Charlotte. Compton was joined by Speedway Motorsports President and Chief Operating Officer Marcus Smith, along with NHRA legend Shirley Muldowney and defending NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel world champion Larry Dixon. While the four answered questions from the media, they were flanked on the stage by two machines that represent the past and present in NHRA Championship Drag Racing: a vintage front-engine slingshot-style dragster and a modern-day 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster. Among the special items that will highlight the NHRA’s 60th anniversary, Compton unveiled a limited-edition NHRA 60th Anniversary Wally trophy that will be distributed to all national event winners during the season. The trophy has a pewter finish and features a commemorative plate that showcases the NHRA 60th Anniversary logo. Compton also announced that NHRA will reveal the 60 Greatest Moments in NHRA history during the season along with many other special attractions at each event on the 22-race circuit, including popular Cacklefests, vintage car shows, tribute-car races, and meet-and-greets with many NHRA legends. The NHRA’s 60th Anniversary season opens Feb. 24-27 with the 51st annual Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. The tradition-rich race will feature the unveiling of the Snake Pit car show featuring Don Prudhomme’s historic collection of race cars, including his '67 Dodge D700 Hot Wheels ramp truck, his '70 Plymouth ’Cuda, and Tom McEwen’s '72 Mongoose Duster. Also featured in the Snake Pit car show will be many hot rods from the legendary Burbank Road Kings car club that famously counted Prudhomme as one of its members.

From a simple signature March 13, 1951, by NHRA founder Wally Parks to a far more complicated, championship-clinching comeback by John Force Nov. 14, 2010, NHRA has experienced its share of great moments in its first 59 years.

And as the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning body prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2011, NHRA officials have narrowed the many hundreds of memorable moments to a list of 60 Greatest Moments. The complete list, which can be found below, is officially being unveiled for the first time today.

The list includes such seminal moments in NHRA history as Don Garlits’ debut of the rear-engine dragster in 1971, Shirley Muldowney’s groundbreaking first win by a woman in Top Fuel in 1976, Kenny Bernstein breaking the 300-mph barrier in 1992, and Tony Schumacher’s “The Run” in 2006, to name a few.

NHRA fans can relive each of the 60 Greatest Moments via a soon-to-be-released DVD, and they can participate in a yearlong program to determine the 20, 10, and five greatest moments before ultimately identifying the moment that they believe is the greatest in NHRA history.

Beginning Monday, March 7, which opens race week for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals that will serve as the Official Kick-Off Party for NHRA’s 60th Anniversary celebration, NHRA will post each of the 60 Greatest Moments (two to three per week) on its Facebook page, and fan Likes will be tallied to determine the 20 fan favorites.

After the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, the top 20 moments will be identified and, just as the top 10 drivers in the Countdown to the Championship will be determined at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the fans’ top 10 moments will be determined. Fans will have from the Monday after the Brainerd event (Aug. 22) to the end of the U.S. Nationals to vote, and the 10 moments with the most fan votes will be identified.

The Greatest Moments voting will then have its own playoffs, as one moment will be eliminated at each playoff race, leaving five moments still in play entering the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. Fan voting will close prior to the beginning of the Auto Club NHRA Finals, and the fans’ top five will be unveiled during the race weekend.

Here is a snapshot look at the list of the 60 Greatest Moments in NHRA history (chronological order). A more detailed account of each moment will be released as each is posted for fan-voting throughout the course of the season.

1. Wally Parks founds NHRA (1951)
2. First NHRA-sanctioned event (1953)
3. Founding of NHRA Safety Safari (1954)
4. 1955 Indy Top Eliminator: Calvin Rice wins the first U.S. Nationals
5. National DRAGSTER founded (1960)
6. U.S. Nationals moves to permanent home at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (1961)
7. Christmas Tree introduced (1963)
8. End of nitro ban returns fuel to sport (1964)
9. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits cracks 200-mph barrier (1964)
10. Shirley Shahan first woman to win NHRA event (1966)
11. 1967 Indy Top Fuel: "Big Daddy" shaves
12. Wally trophy introduced (1969)
13. Funny Car class introduced (1969)
14. Mattel sponsorship opens door to corporate involvement (1970)
15. 1970 Indy Top Fuel final: The Crash
16. Garlits wins in debut of rear-engine dragster (1971)
17. 1971 Indy Top Fuel final: The Burndown
18. Jim Dunn wins in rear-engine Funny Car (1972)
19. Mike Snively makes first five-second Top Fuel pass (1972)
20. Winston partnership (1975)
21. Garlits’ 5.63 at 250.69 at World Finals considered by many greatest run ever (1975)
22. Don “the Snake” Prudhomme records first Funny Car five-second run (1975)
23. Shirley Muldowney first woman to win in Top Fuel (1976, Columbus)
24. Prudhomme wins seven of eight national events (1976)
25. Muldowney first female world champ (1977)
26. Bob Glidden unbeaten for calendar year (1978-79)
27. 1978 Indy Funny Car final: "Mongoose" bites "Snake"
28. Allen wins dramatic 1981 Top Fuel crown by 2 mph
29. 1982 Springnationals all-female Top Fuel final
30. Prudhomme posts first 250-mph Funny Car pass (1982)
31. Connie Kalitta vs. Muldowney (1982 U.S. Nationals)
32. Prudhomme makes arguably greatest Funny Car run of all time (1982, Indy)
33. "Big Daddy" makes return to Indy (1984)
34. Building of Texas Motorplex, first stadium dragstrip (1986)
35. Glidden first to reach 50 wins (1986)
36. Garlits’ big blowover (1986, Englishtown)
37. Entire national event schedule on television for first time (1986)
38. Gene Snow records first NHRA four-second run (1988)
39. Joe Amato edges Gary Ormsby in closest Top Fuel finish (1990)
40. Pat Austin first double winner (1991, Topeka)
41. Kenny Bernstein breaks 300-mph barrier (1992, Gainesville)
42. First Hot Rod Reunion organized (1992)
43. NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League founded (1992)
44. Four-second, 300-mph Funny Car barriers broken on same weekend (1993)
45. Kurt Johnson (6.988) records first Pro Stock six-second run (1994)
46. Bernstein first to win championships in Top Fuel and Funny Car (1996)
47. John Force first NHRA driver named Driver of the Year (1996)
48. Warren Johnson (200.13 mph) records first Pro Stock 200-mph run (1997)
49. NHRA Museum opened (1998)
50. Coke partnership (2001)
51. Bernsteins first father-son to share winner's circle (Las Vegas, 2001)
52. Lucas Oil becomes NHRA Sportsman Series sponsor (2002)
53. John Force’s 100th victory (2002, Houston-2)
54. Andrew Hines (6.991) records first Pro Stock Motorcycle six-second run (2005)
55. Tony Schumacher wins title with “The Run” (2006, NHRA Finals)
56. Ashley Force Hood wins first race in Atlanta (2008)
57. Schumacher breaks all Top Fuel season records (2008)
58. Countdown introduced (2007)
59. Four-wide national event at zMAX Dragway (2010)
60. Force comeback, wins 15th championship (2010)