Fri, 9 Jul 2010, 06:06 PM Frank Lost Really!!

By Bob Frey

Todd Veney Photo by Jim Samuel

I was out of town working this past weekend and I didn't have use of my computer every day like I usually do. That meant that I couldn't keep track of what was going on in the racing world, especially The Lucas Oil race at Lebanon Valley in New York. One of the reasons I love working for the Summit Racing folks here on DragRaceCentral.com is that, when I'm not at a race, or when a divisional race is being held the same weekend that I'm at a national race, I can keep up with the results. Once I get those results I then include them in one of the many files that I have, files that include almost everything that has gone on at an NHRA race for the past fifty years. I say "almost" everything because there are some results and information that has been lost over the years and probably will never be found. A lot of that information is from the early days of the divisional races and I don't know if the results exist or if I just haven't been able to find them. Whatever, the end result is the same. As I logged on to this web site last weekend I knew that I would find the results from the D-1 race and I fully expected to see that Frank Manzo won another race. Well, guess what? He didn't. Frank was taken out in the second round by Todd Veney in Jay Blake's car. Todd then went on to beat Eric Lourie to win the race, which meant that Jay would then kiss the ground. Hey, it's a "Jay thing."

Frank Manzo Photo by Jim Samuel

As I entered the results from Lebanon Valley into my computer I began to think about how many races Frank has won and that slipped right into the thought process about who are the most prolific winners in NHRA divisional history. Since I had some free time while I was working I decided to check it out, and I found out that, to no one's surprise, Frank Manzo has won more divisional races than any other driver in NHRA history. Frank, who won for the first time at Englishtown back in 1981, has won 106 division races, and that is, by far, the most in history. Next up with sixty-five wins is Bob Newberry. Bob is followed by Jay Payne with sixty-two, Vern Moats with fifty-six and Pat Austin with fifty-four. I don't know if I was surprised by this next little number or not, but eight of the top ten winners in division history are all alky racers, or were for most of their careers. The only two in the top ten who never won in an alky car are Peter Biondo, who is sixth with his forty-six wins, and Edmond Richardson who is eighth with his forty one. Of course Peter and Edmond have both done something that none of the other top ten did and that is they have won two classes at the same divisional race. For the record, to make the top ten you had to win at least thirty-eight races like Rick Santos did. And, because I have a lot of time on my hands, to make the top fifty in divisional wins you have to have won twenty-one races like Kyle Seipel, David Nickens and Harvey Emmons III have done. A further look at the list revealed some interesting little tidbits. In addition to Frank's 106 wins he has also been the runner-up thirty-four times. Now I'm not great at math but that gives him a pretty impressive winning percentage doesn't it? Also, if you don't want to race Frank, for whatever reason, then just stay out of Division 1. Of all his wins only ten have come outside of his home territory in the great Northeast and three of them have come at Norwalk in the last three years.

Newberry vs. Payne Photo by BME Photography

Bob Newberry, one of the greats in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, is second on the al-time division win list with his sixty-five wins, most of which came in the alky ranks. But Bob started out in the Competition Eliminator class and even won a Comp national championship back in 1979 to go with his pair of alky crowns. In '79 he also won his first division race when he took the title in New England by beating the great Bernie Agaman in the Comp final round. Jay Payne, who has raced Bob and Frank, as well as several other drivers in the top ten, also began in a different class than what he is known for today. Back in the early 1970's Jay was racing in Super Stock and that's where he earned his first divisional crown when he beat Cliff Spaulding in the finals at Fremont. Other winners that day included Dennis Baca, Walt Rhoades and Jim Dunn in case you were wondering. Jay went to some other finals in Super Stock including the one where he lost to Harry Holton in Sacramento in 1977. That has no other bearing on this story other than the fact that I get to work in Harry Holton's name. Jay then stepped up to the Top Alcohol Dragster ranks and he earned his first win there by beating some guy by the name of Gary Scelzi in the finals at Seattle in 1986. Wonder what ever happened to that Scelzi fellow? Jay, of course, is still racing and should pass Bob on the list sometime later this year or early next year.

Vern Moats Photo by Barry Bergeron

Next on the list, at least my list, which may or may not be completely accurate (I put that in there so I won't get letters), is Vern Moats. Vern, known mostly for his days behind the wheel of an alcohol Funny Car, has won division races in three classes. In addition to TAFC, Vern has also been in the winner's circle in Comp and the old Pro Comp classes. He won Comp at Thunder Road Raceway back in 1969 when he beat Dick Smith in the finals. Joining Vern in the winner's circle that week were a couple of guys you may have heard of, Mike Snively, Don Cain and Leroy Psyk. Hey, I said you may have heard of a couple of them, not all of them. Once he parked his old Jaguar, that's right, a Jaguar, Vern moved into the alky ranks, but not before he won two more races in Comp and five in Pro Comp. He won his first division race in the TAFC class in Gimli, Canada, in 1982 when he beat Don Haywood, and believe me, back then that wasn't easy to do. In his career Don went to a dozen final rounds in TAFC and he finished as high as fifth in the national points one year. Vern is still racing and I wouldn't be surprised if he added a few more wins to his list before he decides to retire. That is, if he ever decides to retire.

Pat Austin Photo by Auto Imagery, Inc.

The final guy in the top five is Pat Austin. Pat, one of the best, toughest and fiercest competitors ever, won a total of fifty-four divisional races and they went from his first win in 1986 to his last in Oregon in 2001. That first win came at Renegade Raceway when Pat beat Bob Versteeg. For the record, that was Bob's only divisional final round in his career. That race also featured wins by two drivers who will be competing this week in Seattle, Jeff Kane and Ken Heard. Pat travelled all over the country when he was racing so it isn't surprising that he ran into a couple of the other top guys once in a while. Pat raced Bob Newberry in seven final rounds and won two of them while he only faced Frank once in a divisional final round, and that was in Rockingham in 1994, a race that Frank won.

Well, now you know what I do with my extra time. That's what eleven hours on a plane will do for you, or to you. Oh, didn't I mention that when I was working last week it was in Hawaii where I was shooting a segment for the Lucas Oil show that will feature the racers at Kauai Raceway Park in Hawaii? Hey, it's a tough job. When I go on my next long trip I'll get some info on the other guys in the top ten and I'll report back to you. I know, you can't wait, but if you're a hard-core sportsman fan, where else can you get this information? That's what I thought.

NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Top Alcohol Funny Car Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Competition Eliminator Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Top Dragster Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 05- POMONA 2 - Event Preview
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Top Alcohol Funny Car
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Competition Eliminator
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Stock
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Stock Eliminator
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Gas