GLENDORA, Calif. (July 26, 2011) – There have been so many great and memorable moments in NHRA’s 60-year history, it’d be awfully difficult to pick just one as the greatest of the great, but that’s exactly the challenge NHRA presented to the more than a quarter of a million fans of its Facebook page.
And one of the most engaged and socially connected fan bases has not disappointed – the season-long program, executed exclusively on NHRA’s Facebook page, has generated more than 6 million impressions and 25,000 fan-interactions – setting the table for what will surely be an even more highly engaging and intensely debated final couple of months of NHRA’s 60th anniversary season.
The intense debate is already beginning as the first cut, which will narrow the list of moments from 60 to 20, is only weeks away (Sunday, Aug. 21) with some of the sport’s most memorable moments, including Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s 250-mph-breaking run in Funny Car, considered by some the greatest run in NHRA history, sitting precariously on the bubble.
That moment, based on the weighted ‘likes’ system used to calculate the fan voting, is currently the 17th ranked moment on the list with eight moments, including Tom “Mongoose” McEwen’s emotional win at Indy in 1978, still remaining to be unveiled between now and Aug. 17.
Twelve Moments, including Bob Glidden’s Calendar-Year Winning Streak in 1975, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits blowover in Englishtown in 1986, Kenny Bernstein’s 300-mph-breaking run in Gainesville in 1992, and Tony Schumacher’s “The Run” in 2006 are already safely in the Top 20.
Fans can visit the 60 Greatest Moments Web page for complete program details as well as to link to up-to-the-minute rankings of the Moments that have been posted (blue) – as well as the Moments that have not yet been posted (black). Fans can go there not just to keep up with the voting, but also 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.
Once the Top 20 have been settled, NHRA will unveil a dedicated tab on its Facebook page that will include the Top 20 Moments and instructions for fans to select their five favorites. That vote will open Monday, Aug. 22 and close Monday, Sept. 5, at which point the Top 10 Moments will be announced.
Then, beginning on Sept. 6, the dedicated voting tab on the NHRA Facebook page will reflect the Top 10 Moments as determined by the fan vote. This time, fans will only be allowed to select one moment, the moment they believe is the Greatest Moment in NHRA History.
At the conclusion of each of the first five races in the Countdown to the Championship playoff, the Moment with the least votes will be eliminated, leaving five Moments still in play entering the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 10-13.
Voting will close on Wednesday, Nov. 9 and the fans’ selection for the Greatest Moment in NHRA History will be unveiled during the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Sunday, Nov. 13.
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2011. As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
NHRA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NHRA
NHRA 60 Greatest Moments Web page: http://www.NHRA.com/NHRA60
NHRA 60 Greatest Moments Highlight Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a-PDZZJX7ck
NHRA 60 Greatest Moments DVD: http://www.nhra.com/nhra60/DVD.html
Here is a current list of the Top 22 Moments as of July 26: Green = Safely in the Top 20; Light Green = In Strong Position; Yellow = Last Four In; Red = First Two Out. (Note: The Moments in green, the ones that are assured of advancing, have been placed in chronological order; all other moments in order based on their ranking):
The 8 remaining moments / date it will be posted on NHRA’s Facebook page:
Garlits vs. Carbone Indy TF Final: The Burndown (1971) / Wed., July 27 |
Snake vs. Nicoll Indy TF Final: The Crash (1970) / Monday, Aug. 1 |
Mongoose's Emotional U.S. Nationals Win (1978), Wed., Aug. 3 |
Muldowney's First Indy Title (1982), Monday, Aug. 8 |
Snake Steals Show with 5.63, 'One of the Greatest Runs Ever' (1982) / Wed. Aug. 10 |
Return of Big Daddy (1984) / Friday, Aug. 12 |
The First Nationals (1955) / Monday, Aug. 15 |
US Nationals Moved to Permanent Home in Indy (1961) / Wed., Aug. 17 |
