How many event wins does Manzo have compared to Force? I’m not sure how many of Manzo’s wins are national event wins. Or maybe I am thinking of number of championships...
That's kind of true, but I don't think that's entirely fair to Manzo. Busch's numbers are inflated by the fact that he can compete in three separate races per weekend without any impact to his main ride. He's good and wins a lot, but by simply choosing to race more, he gives himself chances that others don't bother with. Manzo (and Force) have their numbers by being absolutely dominant in their classes for an extended period of time. When you're in a sportsman class, you have to pick and choose your races to maximize your points potential, and since divisionals count toward national points, they can't be discounted in the same vein as the truck or Xfinity series with regard to Busch's wins.As well as all the divisional championships along with National that he has won along the way. This ultimately makes Manzo "technically" the winning est racer in NHRA history. Just like how Kyle Busch is the win leader in Nascar unofficially.
Manzo has 17 Championships, 118 Divisional wins, and 105 National wins.
i think david rampy and dan fletcher are also in this discussion of most nat. event wins?[/QUOTE
The sheer dominance in their classes put Force & Manzo in a c;lass by themselves
Manzo comes vastly short of Force in the critical category of number of words spoken in front of a camera.
From my data, this is all I could find on Don:
Championships: 17. NHRA: 3 IHRA: 4 AHRA: 10
U.S. Nationals Wins/Finals: 8/11
Career Wins: 35 IHRA: TF: 25, 84 Outside Of NHRA/IHRA, Specifics To Many Sanctioning Bodies Unknown
Career Finals: 43 IHRA: TF: 32, At Least 69 Outside Of NHRA/IHRA, Specifics To Many Sanctioning Bodies Unknown
Thanks Patrick. Good info. I was also thinking about races won that were not Championship type races. Say the race in 1959 after Bakersfield, when he first ran a blower (Kingdon??), or races like that. Not to mention just local races that he won, or races entered as he toured the country. I bet even Garlits doesn't remember how many he won, unless he wrote it down. You could put Prudhomme, Ivo, The Greek, etc in that category. Different time, hardly any National events.
Snake and Goose brought corporate money in long before Bernstein, around 1970.AND - Everyone except Ivo made their living that way. This was also before Bernstein brought major corporate money to drag racing.