What possibly can motivate a man who has dominated his division for so long, so emphatically?

Just set the bar even higher.

In Frank Manzo’s case, he doesn’t have to look far to face a tough crowd. His own neighborhood is filled with drivers looking to knock off the perennial national Top Alcohol Funny Car king.

But try catching him if you can.

Few have.

There is always the need to run quicker laps at greater speeds for the Manzo Machine. The frequent wins, it seems, come with the territory. 

“Competition is the best thing for anybody because it definitely makes you work harder,” said Manzo, while taking a brief break from his hectic schedule of running his own construction business in New Jersey and preparing his Lucas Oil Monte Carlo for another weekend race. “Competition makes you better, makes you push harder.”

What possibly can motivate a man who has dominated his division for so long, so emphatically?

Just set the bar even higher.

In Frank Manzo’s case, he doesn’t have to look far to face a tough crowd. His own neighborhood is filled with drivers looking to knock off the perennial national Top Alcohol Funny Car king.

But try catching him if you can.

Few have.

There is always the need to run quicker laps at greater speeds for the Manzo Machine. The frequent wins, it seems, come with the territory. 

“Competition is the best thing for anybody because it definitely makes you work harder,” said Manzo, while taking a brief break from his hectic schedule of running his own construction business in New Jersey and preparing his Lucas Oil Monte Carlo for another weekend race. “Competition makes you better, makes you push harder.”

The Manzo Empire runs strong on self-motivation, wisdom, ingenuity, garage grit, and class. Supported by a longstanding crew that enjoys the comfortable but challenging life of the sportsman ranks, Manzo has been in a league of his own.

“He’s always been competitive,” said John Glade, who has been racing alongside Manzo during the course of four decades and has served as his crew chief since 1979. “We work at it … we just like to go fast, and Frank strives on learning. He wants to know everything about the car. He wants to know how it works.

“We’re just dedicated to be the best.”

Manzo, a 54-year-old driver from Morganville, N.J., has achieved lofty, unparalleled success. He has won 10 national championships – second only to John Force and his 14 Funny Car world titles – collected 68 national-event wins in TA Funny Car, second only to Pat Austin’s 70, and amassed 16 Northeast Division 1 championships.

“Sometimes you live your dream,” said Manzo, who was chosen by experts as one of drag racing’s top 50 drivers at the 50th anniversary of the National Hot Rod Association in 2001. “If you don’t set your goals really high, you’re just going to be normal, and I set my goals really high at the start of the season.”

In taking his 10th national title last year, Manzo also captured his eighth U.S. National and set both ends of the NHRA national record while becoming the first T/A Funny Car driver to break the 5.5-second barrier.

In favorable atmospheric conditions at Virginia Motorsports Park last October, Manzo and his Chevrolet blistered the quarter-mile strip in 5.454 seconds at a top speed of 263.26 mph. Since then, he has boosted that speed mark to 265.74 with a run in cool and cooperative air at Gainesville, Fla., in March.

Manzo, it seems, refuses to slow down.

“I have the drive to do it,” said Manzo, who is picking up momentum this season with recent back-to-back wins – at Reading Pa., and Norwalk, Ohio. He also managed to capture the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway for a record 12th time.

“I probably don’t have as much drive as I did when I was younger,” he said. “I’m 54, but I wish I was 40. I had more drive then, but I love to race, make a run and then make a decision (on the car).

“What drives me the most is when the car is not right, we’re behind and we have to reach back and really work and drive the car hard,” Manzo added.

That work ethic is contagious. The Manzo camp works nightly. The race shop is filled with familiar faces, such as Freddy Bauer, Ed Hofmann, Bud Donato, Scott Siesing, and John “Hopper” Halasz, who put in long days with their regular jobs before volunteering time to wrench the Manzo Chevrolet. The group is talented and loose, but comes to the track prepared and focused.

As Manzo best describes it, “We still do it the way the guys did it 30 years ago.”

The Manzo crew was launched under the tutelage of Tim Richards. “The General” was instrumental in igniting the successful ways of Glade and Manzo before moving on to a great career as an NHRA tuner himself.

“His work ethic was different than anybody else’s,” Manzo said of Richards, who built his engines for several seasons. “He taught me right and wrong, and that the word ‘OK’ never wins drag races. He taught me a lot of stuff. And I thank him all the time.”

Between racing and business, Manzo has had little time to reflect on his remarkable run. Despite the steady stream of wins and titles, he remains humble and thankful for a racing career that has gone well, without serious consequences.

“If you were to walk up to me on the street and ask me how many wins I had, I probably couldn't tell you,” Manzo said. “I just kind of go and do what I have to do. You never know when a certain win is going to be your last.

“We’re going to keep racing hard,” Manzo said. “We’re going to continue to dig deep and when it’s time to lift up our heads and check the scoreboard, we’ll do it.

“I love to race, and that’s what it is all about,” he added. “I’ve been fortunate. I have had great sponsors, which makes it easier on me. They’ve given me the opportunity to do this.”

And Manzo is perfectly content on staying where he is. He has entertained several offers over the years to turn pro and challenge the likes of Force, Gary Scelzi and Ron Capps on the Powerade Drag Racing Series. But Manzo has declined to do so, opting to stay close to his roots, his family and his operation. The extensive travel and commitment would be greater than what he and his tight-knit family and crew are accustomed to doing over the long haul.

“Basically, there wasn’t enough amount of money in the mix to do it the way I wanted to do it,” Manzo said of his decision to stay in the sportsman ranks. “If I ever get into a situation like that … I would be in it to win the world championship. But to take that away from John Force, you have to be prepared to do some serious work, and the bottom line is it’s going to take money.”

Manzo wouldn’t entirely dismiss the chance to race in nitro Funny Car, but driving a different animal isn’t in the cards right now.

“I’m very happy with where I’m at,” Manzo said. “I’m having fun. I’m getting to live my dream. … I’m not saying I wouldn’t be happy there (in the pros) but I get to work on my own car, sleep in my own bed and on weekends, drive my own car.”

For Manzo, the goals are great and the bar remains high.

Having penetrated the 5.4-second zone, Manzo says there’s more potential in the car and more concerns that his competition is closer behind. The next step is to reach into the 5.30s.

“I’ll just say this,” Manzo added. “I don’t like to talk trash, but nobody will know how fast my car will really go.

“But there are others cars capable of running well,” he said. “It’s a tough crowd. I don’t get a breather out there.

“I’m going to do a little better than what I’ve been doing … run a little harder and drive a little better.”