BIG DADDY’S 200-MPH BARRIER-BREAKING PASS BACK IN 1964 IS THE FANS’ CHOICE FOR NHRA GREATEST MOMENT NO. 7
Only 6 Moments Remain to be Unveiled in NHRA’s Season-long 60th Anniversary Program to identify the Greatest Moment in NHRA History
GLENDORA, Calif. (Oct. 17, 2011) – A half a century ago, things moved at a much slower pace, but if your name was Big Daddy” Don Garlits it wasn’t that much slower.
In the Summer of 1964, the No. 1 all-time greatest driver on NHRA’s list of 50 Greatest Drivers was using his amazing expertise for engine technology and innovation to move at speeds that many, even today, would find astounding.
And on Aug. 2, 1964 the great innovator etched his name in not just the record books, but unquestionably in the history books as well with his 7.78-second pass at 201.34 that broke the 200-mph barrier that many believed would never be broken.
As Garlits climbed out of his dragster after that historic run at Island Dragway in Great Meadows, N.J., he said: “It’s like being in another world.”
The barrier-breaking run was voted the No. 7 Greatest Moment by NHRA fans in NHRA’s season-long campaign to have its fans identify the Greatest of the 60 Greatest Moments during this 60th anniversary season of NHRA.
With Moment No. 7 having been announced, that leaves only six Moments (see complete list below) still in contention to be the Greatest Moment in NHRA history. Voting resumed earlier today, via the “Vote 4 Greatest Moment” tab on the NHRA Facebook page, and it will continue through Nov. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET, at which point the ‘polls’ will close and the final votes will be tallied ahead of the official announcement of the Greatest Moment in NHRA history, Sunday, Nov. 13, during pre-race on the final Sunday of NHRA’s 60th anniversary season.
In the meantime, Moment No. 6 will be identified and announced during the ESPN2 broadcast of the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals on Oct. 30.
At the conclusion of the NHRA Nevada Nationals, Oct. 30, the original list of 60 Greatest Moments will have been pared down to the Top 5 Greatest Moments in NHRA history and fans will have the chance to submit one final vote for their favorite moment before the final vote will be tallied at midnight ET on Nov. 9.
The quest for NHRA’s Greatest Moment has been one of a number of programs NHRA created during this historic 60th anniversary season to celebrate the sport’s rich tradition.
It began with the announcement in January 2011 of the 60 Greatest Moments in NHRA history, as selected by a panel of drag racing experts. From there, it was turned over the fans who responded in huge numbers during the first two stages of the program – more than 7.5 million impressions and more than 31,000 fan interactions – to trim the original list of 60 Greatest Moments to the Top 20 Greatest Moments (on Aug. 22) and the Top 10 Greatest Moments (Sept. 5).
As difficult as that must have been for NHRA fans – narrowing the original list of 60 Greatest Moments down to just 10 – consider the challenge that lies ahead for fans in selecting the single Moment that they believe is the greatest moment in NHRA History. How do you pick just one of these six remaining Greatest Moments in NHRA History?
Here are the Top 10 Greatest Moments (remaining moments in chronological order):
Founding of NHRA (1951)
Don Garlits debuts the rear-engine dragster — and wins (Pomona, 1971)
Shirley Muldowney is NHRA's first woman to win a world championship (1977)
Kenny Bernstein makes NHRA's first 300-mph run (1992)
Tony Schumacher's "The Run" (2006)
John Force completes comeback, wins 15th championship (2010)
No. 7: Don Garlits makes NHRA’s first 200-mph run (1964)
No. 8: Ashley Force Hood is first woman to win in Funny Car (2008)
No. 9: John Force is first to win 100 career races (2002)
No. 10: Shirley Muldowney is first woman to win in Top Fuel (1976)
To participate, fans can go to NHRA’s Facebook page, easy to find at Facebook.com/NHRA, and click on the “Vote 4 Greatest Moment” tab. Once there, fans will be instructed to select just one (1) of the 10 Moments and click ‘Submit’ (after submitting their vote, fans will have the chance to enter to win one VIP package or one of five pairs of full-event tickets to the 2012 event of their choice).
Fans can visit the 60 Greatest Moments Web page for complete program details as well as to view historical photos and videos that retrace every step in NHRA rich and storied history. The page also includes links to view a preview of / purchase NHRA’s “60 Greatest Moments” DVD.
