FANS TO DETERMINE GREATEST MOMENT IN NHRA HISTORY

NHRA UNVEILS ITS 60 GREATEST MOMENTS; FANS TO DETERMINE GREATEST MOMENT: From a simple signature March 13, 1951, by NHRA Founder Wally Parks to a 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 in a list that was unveiled this past week. Such memories 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 and Kenny Bernstein breaking the 300-mph barrier in 1992, just to name a few, are found among the list of 60 Greatest Moments. NHRA Fans can relive each of the 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 moments will be determined at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. To see a complete list of the 60 Greatest Moments, visit NHRA.com.

TOP FUEL PILOT DAVE GRUBNIC TO FLY ROCKY BOOTS COLORS, PRO STOCK BIKE RIDER CHIP ELLIS TO DEBUT KURYAKYN BUELL IN 2011: Kalitta Motorsports announced that Rocky Boots has returned as a primary and associate sponsor for the team for the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. The premium footwear and apparel maker will serve as primary sponsor on the Top Fuel dragster driven by Dave Grubnic for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, The Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, Calif. and the O’Reilly Auto parts NHRA Nationals in Charlotte, N.C. Also announced this week was the return of Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Chip Ellis, who will team up with veteran crew chief Harry Lartigue for the 2011 season aboard the Lartigue Racing Buell, sponsored by Kuryakyn, a chrome and performance accessories company. The team plans to compete at all 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events beginning with the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, March 10-13 at Gainesville Raceway. For more information on either of these teams, visit NHRA.com.