Frank Manzo smiles as he recollects his first days as a Pro Modified crew chief.

Manzo, a 13-time NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car series champion, couldn’t believe the simplest of duties got the best of him. Tune a supercharged alcohol Funny Car? He could do it in his sleep. Pedal his way down a slick track? For him, it’s as simple as straddling a bike down the street.

But, directing a Pro Modified/Pro Extreme car driven by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani into the staging beams was clearly a challenge.

“I’m standing there and he’s waving at me inside of the car,” said Manzo, recalling a moment during the team’s third test session. “I was like … what the hell is he talking about … what is wrong? I turned around and I had my foot in the pre-stage light and he was trying to tell me I was standing in the beam. I was clearly a fish out of water.

TAFC’s Most Prolific Driver Steps Into The Tuner Zone …

Frank Manzo smiles as he recollects his first days as a Pro Modified crew chief.

Manzo, a 13-time NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car series champion, couldn’t believe the simplest of duties got the best of him. Tune a supercharged alcohol Funny Car? He could do it in his sleep. Pedal his way down a slick track? For him, it’s as simple as straddling a bike down the street.

But, directing a Pro Modified/Pro Extreme car driven by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani into the staging beams was clearly a challenge.

“I’m standing there and he’s waving at me inside of the car,” said Manzo, recalling a moment during the team’s third test session. “I was like … what the hell is he talking about … what is wrong? I turned around and I had my foot in the pre-stage light and he was trying to tell me I was standing in the beam. I was clearly a fish out of water.

“I was probably more nervous bringing him to the starting line than I would have been racing for the title at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. I’m having a lot of fun and that’s what’s most important these days – having a lot of fun.”

The revelation is probably tough for Manzo’s competition from the alcohol ranks to fathom. A driver, who could remain cool and calm with an atomic bomb exploding in the other lane, was rattled staging a rookie driver.

It wasn't the driver which rattled Manzo, it was the oddity of his place  in the process. For someone used to being in total control of every aspect of his racing, the procedure simply felt foreign. As he pointed out, being on the outside of the car left him outside of his comfort zone.

“Here, I tune it but I don’t have the steering wheel in my hand,” Manzo pointed out. “I’m still getting used to it. The first few races with Sheikh Khalid, I didn’t even know where to stand up there.”

No one knows Manzo better than himself and knowing ahead of time his own comfort zone was the reason he refrained from initially accepting the role as tuner for the son of Qatar’s Emir. Manzo was intent on riding out his time in the sport and eventually riding off in the sunset as one of drag racing most successful alcohol flopper drivers.

“Sheikh Khalid approached me and at first I told him I wasn’t interested,” admitted Manzo. “I just wanted to drive my alcohol Funny Car for another two years. I’ve been driving alcohol Funny Cars since 1974 and I have over 3600 runs in one. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to accomplish a lot in this class. A couple of more years and I believe the timing will be right for me to step out.”

When the time comes to give up his helmet, Manzo hopes he’ll be able to work with Al Thani for many years as a crew chief. In a day and age when egos dominate the pits, Manzo humbly accepts his assignment as an incredible opportunity.

Manzo has been around the sport long enough to know heroes come one day and leave the next.

“When I’m through, I will be done with it,” said Manzo, discussing his final years in the Top Alcohol division as a driver. “I’ll just step completely out of the class and hopefully if Sheikh Khalid is still involved in racing and Pro Mods, I will still have a place to go to.”

Al-Thani understands the importance of those final years as a driver to Manzo, and while not sacrificing his own driving aspirations, brought in a pair of legendary nitro tuners in Tim and Kim Richards, to fill in when Manzo's off upholding the Team Al-Anabi name on the NHRA tour.

Manzo adamantly points out that he’s living in a dream scenario.

“I am learning from Tim every day and we have worked together since 1975,” said Manzo. “Tim has taught me a lot about what I know regarding alcohol motors. I enjoy being here and I enjoy working for Sheikh Khalid. I have a great team surrounding me thanks to Sheikh Khalid and the Richards.”

Al Thani has proven to be anything but a rookie driver for Manzo. With just a few test sessions under his belt, Al Thani won the Arabian Drag Racing League title. On American soil, Al Thani scored the Pro Extreme pole in his American Drag Racing League debut during the Georgia Drags last month in Valdosta, Ga. Last weekend he captured his first national event title in Richmond, Va.

“Sheikh Khalid has brought me in here and wanted me to explain a bit about how to drive the car,” said Manzo. “I’ve always tried to explain it to him the best I could. Right now, he’s kinda making my job easy here. He’s doing a great job driving the car. He is consistent and truly has the heart to drive one of these cars, and the heart to win in one of these cars. That part, you cannot buy.

“He has it in him. He wants to drive this car and wants to win. A lot of the younger people will come in here, race for a couple of years and be gone. They don’t have the heart. But he will go the extra mile. There’s days in his country where we tested five days in a row. We made a lot of runs and I could see after the third day he was getting tired. He never complained, he just sucked it up and we went out there and he learned. We have had our good days and there were some bad. He has the heart for it and that makes him my kind of guy.”

Manzo's kind of guy … a guy just like himself.