NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The introduction of the Christmas Tree starting system, numerous barrier-breaking runs, and historic world championships are just a few of the latest historic moments honored in NHRA’s Top 75 Moments countdown.

An online fan ballot that resulted in more than 42,000 individual votes helped create the list of the Top 75 Moments in NHRA history that are being unveiled in a series of rolling announcements as part of NHRA’s 75th Anniversary celebration.

The reveals will take place each Wednesday through Feb. 18 in 10-moment increments, and the final five will be unveiled the week of Feb. 23 as a lead-in to the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, March 5-8.

Without further ado, here are NHRA’s Top 75 Moments, Nos. 16-25:

16. Christmas Tree introduction (1963)

For years, flagmen started drag races, but they were unpredictable and had their “tells” that drivers could take advantage of. At the 1963 Nationals in Indy, NHRA introduced an electronic device with multi-colored lights counting down to a green light that soon became known as the Christmas Tree, a method that has been in use ever since.

17. Don Prudhomme makes first five-second Funny Car run (1975)

At the NHRA World Finals, Don Prudhomme made the sport’s first five-second Funny Car pass (5.98) in the semifinals. Prudhomme, who earlier in the event had run the class’ first 240-mph pass, won the event to clinch his first of four world championships. No other driver ran in the five-second zone for nearly three years.

18. Austin Prock breaks 340-mph Funny Car barrier (2024)

In a rare case of the Funny Car class beating its nitro-fueled Top Fuel brethren to a performance barrier, Austin Prock ran the class’ first 340-mph at the NHRA Finals en route to claiming his first world championship. His teammate, Brittany Force, would make the first 340-mph Top Fuel pass the next season.

19. Warren Johnson makes first 200-mph Pro Stock run (1997)

In April 1997 in Richmond, Va., during Friday night qualifying under prime atmospheric conditions, Warren Johnson, "the Professor of Pro Stock," broke the 200-mph speed barrier in Pro Stock with a 200.13-mph pass in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac Firebird, earning $25,000 and becoming the inaugural member of the Speed Pro 200-mph Club.

20. Kenny Bernstein first to win Top Fuel and Funny Car world championships (1996)

After winning four Funny Car championships in the 1980s, Kenny Bernstein won the Top Fuel crown in his Budweiser King dragster in 1996, becoming the first driver in history to win world championships in both nitro classes, and would win the Top Fuel crown again in 2001. Gary Scelzi and Del Worsham have since matched that feat.

21. Jim Epler makes first 300-mph Funny Car pass (1993)

On Oct. 3, in Topeka, Kan., Jim Epler made history by becoming the first Funny Car driver to exceed 300 mph with a speed of 300.40 mph in the first round of eliminations. Only eight Top Fuel drivers before him had exceeded 300 mph, and he became the only Funny Car driver in the Slick 50 300-mph Club.

22. Erica Enders first female Pro Stock winner (2012)

In 2012 at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, Erica Enders made history by becoming the first woman to win in the Pro Stock category, defeating four-time world champion Greg Anderson in the final round with a 6.627-second pass at 207.40 mph. Up through the end of 2025, she had recorded 49 Pro Stock victories.

23. Erica Enders first female Pro Stock world champ (2014)

Erica Enders made more history by becoming the first woman to win the NHRA Pro Stock world championship, clinching the title with her sixth season victory at the NHRA Finals. This landmark achievement placed her alongside Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) as the only women to secure NHRA Professional-class championships.

24. First Top Fuel race (1963)

Following the lead of local tracks, NHRA outlawed the use of nitromethane fuel from 1957-1962 out of rising safety and cost concerns. When nitro returned for the 1963 NHRA Winternationals, where Don Garlits won the newly designed Top Fuel class, the fan response was overwhelming and Top Fuel became a regular part of the NHRA beginning in 1964.

25. Tom McEwen defeats Don Prudhomme in emotional Indy Funny Car final (1978)

In an emotional finish at the year’s biggest drag race, Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen, still mourning the death of his son, Jamie, just weeks earlier, defeated archrival Don “the Snake” Prudhomme in the final round to score the biggest win of his career. The moment became the basis of the 2013 Hollywood movie Snake & Mongoose.

See the complete list so far on the Top 75 Moments homepage