Yahoo Autos Greg Anderson Might Just Be the Last NHRA Pro Driver to Reach 100 Wins
Greg Anderson joined a select club earlier this month, when he became just the second pro driver in history (behind John Force) to reach 100 NHRA victories.
Top Fuel racer Tony Schumacher has next best shot at 86 wins.
“Somebody asked me the other day about going for 100. I don't think I want to do this that long," said four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, who has 39 wins.
Pro Stock veteran Greg Anderson bagged his 100th victory at the U.S. Nationals, becoming just the second pro driver in history (behind John Force) to do so
Top Fuel racer Tony Schumacher, who won this year at Seattle, has next best shot at 86 wins. Four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders says she doubts she’ll catch nemesis Anderson
NHRA Funny Car superstar John Force has set a seemingly unmatchable standard with 155 victories in his career that dates back to 1979. And decorated Pro Stock racer Anderson joined him two weeks ago in reaching the 100-victory plateau with his seventh U.S. Nationals triumph.
Sportsman racers Frank Manzo (105 national events), Dan Fletcher (104), and David Rampy (100) have left their indelible marks. But in the professional ranks, it might be a long time before any driver earns 100 or more victories.
Schumacher, the eight-time Top Fuel champion, has the next best chance to hit 100. He heads the all-time class list with 86 as the Countdown to the Championship is set to open this weekend at Reading, Pa.’s Maple Grove Raceway with the Pep Boys Nationals. So he’s 14 away from triple digits. Although he (along with Anderson) owns the NHRA record for most victories in a season (15, in 2008), that’s a big ask, considering the strength of today’s competition.
NHRA 50-Win Club
All-Time NHRA Wins Leaders
John Force 155
Greg Anderson 100
Warren Johnson 97
Tony Schumacher 86
Bob Glidden 85
Ron Capps 71
Antron Brown 70
Kenny Bernstein 69
Jeg Couglin 65
Larry Dixon 62
Robert Hight 59
Andrew Hines 56
Steve Torrence 52
Joe Amato 52
Jason Line 51
• Bold - Active
Schumacher is 52 years old, which is young compared to Force’s 73, the recently retired Chris Karamesines’ 90, Gary Densham’s 76, and the 60s of at least 14 regulars on the pro tour. The question is at what point will he choose to call it quits?
Funny Car’s Ron Capps, the two-time and reigning champion, has 71 wins. Top Fuel’s Antron Brown, the three-time champion, has 70 victories. (They include wins in other pro classes – Capps has one Top Fuel trophy, and Brown has 16 in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.) But how long it might take them to record 30 more victories is uncertain, especially considering both have hinted that they might enjoy stepping from the driver’s seat at some point and developing fresh talent as owners of their own newly formed organizations.
For Schumacher, Capps, and Brown, the stars would have to align perfectly with personnel, equipment, and technical and performance environment. So Anderson might be the last one in quite awhile to achieve 100 victories.
“Greg’s had an awesome career, and we're definitely happy for him to finally secure that 100th win he's been attempting to do a lot of places,” his longtime on-track nemesis Erica Enders said. “And I'll just say that we kept him out of that position for about as long as we could.”
She said, “I'm a blessed girl to be in the position that I'm in. I'm thankful for it every day.” She has 39 victories, seven behind Pro Stock Motorcycle three-time champion Angelle Sampey for the most among women racers.
“We’re gunning for our 40th. We’re 60 freaking wins shy of Greg Anderson. It’s just monumental numbers. It's crazy,” she said. “Somebody asked me the other day about going for 100. I don't think I want to do this that long. My entire career has been a blessing, and it's just been a short time of the 18 years I've been racing . . .we only started to have some success starting in 2012, so we've only really been at it for 10 years. And I think that the sky is the limit.”
However, she said, “It's extremely difficult to just win one race. And that's something that we talk about on the radio’s race car before I hit the starter button and head into the finals: ‘You got to make it count, because being here is so hard and you got to just do your best, make as few mistakes as possible, and execute perfectly.’ So, it's super-challenging to be in the position. And I remember when I started finally winning some Pro Stock races, just starting in 2012. I remember looking at Angelle, she's the one that has the most national-event wins for a female in our sport. I think it's 46. And we're knocking on the door of that. Back then I thought, “Oh my gosh, that's absolutely impossible.’ So I think you can look at it both ways.
“It's definitely a dogfight out there,” Enders said, “and it's really hard to win rounds, let alone races. So I'd say getting to 100 is extreme challenge, for sure.”
Anderson knows it, too.
He said, “I’m certainly coming close to the end of my driving career. I’m 61 years old. I’ve got to be realistic. You can’t compete with the Dallas Glenns and all these young guys. As even as the cars are, you can’t get it done much longer. I don’t think I’m done. I think I’m going to get a few more (victories). And I’m not going to quit until I can’t win anymore. But I know that’s coming.”
