Comparing nice seasons: Force vs. Anderson vs. Schumacher vs. Herrera vs. ‘Snake’

Newly topped Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Gaige Herrera had a season for the ages, scoring 11 occasions in 15 occasions to set a brand new class file and in addition set one other file for many No. 1 qualifying efforts (14 of 15) that can go within the historical past books as the most effective statistical seasons on historical past. 

He amassed a surprising 50-4 win-loss file (92.6%) in nationwide occasion competitors, and when you add his three round-wins within the non-points Pro Stock Motorcycle Callout in Sonoma, the file balloons to 53-4 and about 93%, however for this reckoning, let’s keep on with the nationwide occasion stats.

But how does it stack up in opposition to among the different nice seasons in drag racing historical past? The present information in Top Fuel and Funny Car are each 15 wins — Tony Schumacher in 2008 and Greg Anderson in 2004, respectively — whereas the Funny Car mark is 13, set by the GOAT, John Force, in 1996.

And, lastly, we are going to stack all of them up in opposition to Don Prudhomme’s unearthly 1976 Funny Car marketing campaign by which he received seven of eight nationwide occasions.

Let’s stack the fashionable 4 in a couple of methods; first, win share of occasions on the schedule:

A transparent win for Herrera, however Force additionally had three runner-ups, Anderson had 4 within the Summit GTO, Schumacher had three, and Herrera had only one, so let’s take a look at their percentages of reaching last rounds:

So, though Force’s Castrol GTX Pontiac had much less occasion wins than Anderson and Schumacher (13 to fifteen), his final-round share is high amongst all 4 lessons, even higher than Herrera, as was Anderson.

And now, win-loss share:

Slight edge to Herrera over Force, however how are you going to even name Schumacher the “loser” right here after an almost 90% win ratio with the Alan Johnson-tuned Army dragster?

And, lastly, the proportion of No. 1 qualifying efforts vs. variety of occasions:

Herrera was the clear winner right here, as his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki missed simply as soon as, in Denver, the place he certified third.

And now onto Mr. Prudhomme and the almost legendary 1976 season.

With tons of horsepower underfoot, various observe circumstances, and tons of of transferring elements, perfection is tough to achieve in skilled drag racing. Ask the drivers and crew chiefs, and most will let you know they’ve by no means put collectively an ideal run, and definitely, nobody has ever had an ideal season, although Prudhomme got here tantalizing shut in 1976 when he received seven of the eight nationwide occasions on the schedule and was runner-up on the eighth together with his vaunted U.S. Army-sponsored Chevy Monza.

Prudhomme, at the moment the one driver with wins in Top Fuel and Funny Car, and largely simply crew chief Bob Brandt, middle,  and crewmembers Mike Peloquin, left, and Pat Galvin, entered the 1976 season because the reigning Funny Car world champions, having dominated the 1975 marketing campaign with six triumphs in eight occasions to earn Prudhomme’s first collection crown. As spectacular as their efficiency had been, although, it solely tied the file for many victories in a season, matching the hassle put collectively by Pro Stock ace Ronnie Sox in 1971. The earlier finest Funny Car season had been a four-win marketing campaign by Ed McCulloch in 1972.

Prudhomme, who had received the final two occasions on the 1975 schedule, scored on the first 5 races of the 1976 season and reached the ultimate spherical of the sixth, the U.S. Nationals, the place he was upset by Gary Burgin, ending a run of 30 straight round-wins. Prudhomme recovered from that robust loss to once more win the ultimate two occasions of the season and completed with a surprising 30-1 nationwide occasion win-loss file and his second of 4 straight championships.

He set low e.t. in any respect eight occasions in 1976, certified No. 1 seven of eight occasions — Burgin stopped him from perfection there as nicely, on the Gatornationals — had high pace of the meet six occasions, and reset the nationwide e.t. file twice. Prudhomme additionally received three divisional occasions, which on the time have been a part of the points-scoring equation. 

As you look by means of the outcomes of the individual races under, you’ll discover a couple of issues. First, lots of Prudhomme’s opponents didn’t make it down the observe after failed makes an attempt to outpower him. Second, normally, his automotive was uncannily constant on race day. Third, when each automobiles made it down the observe, Prudhomme’s Monza appeared to have a strong tenth-of-a-second benefit or higher.

Notes: Prudhomme had been the fortunate winner every week earlier on the preseason Winter Classic in Phoenix when Gary Burgin crossed the centerline within the last whereas nicely forward of a tire-smoking “Snake.” … Prudhomme certified No. 1 in Pomona with a 6.02, the second-quickest go in historical past behind his barrier-breaking 5.99 from the 1975 World Finals, and backed it up within the first spherical with a 6.06 to interrupt the old file of 6.14 held by Raymond Beadle. … Prudhomme already held the pace mark at 241.53, additionally set on the 1975 Finals. … Prudhomme’s driving expertise have been put to the take a look at within the semifinals, the place he survived a smoke-filled pedaling match with Prock that burned 5 pistons and broke the rear finish, main to an enormous thrash earlier than he confronted McCulloch within the last. … The victory, Prudhomme’s third on the Winternationals, was his fifteenth win, tying him with Ronnie Sox and Don Garlits as NHRA’s winningest driver.

Quotable: “It’s always good to get things going with a record and a win since it sets the tone for the rest of the year and gives you a lot of momentum.”

Notes: This is the one occasion the place Prudhomme didn’t qualify No. 1; he and crew chief Bob Brandt struggled with the humid air and completed No. 2 with a 6.31 behind Gary Burgin’s 6.29. … The group burned pistons all through qualifying and the primary three rounds and determined to make a radical change for its final-round race with 1974 world champ Greer. The consequence? Just as you’d anticipate for a championship group: one other win with a observe file go; Greer crossed the centerline in defeat. … The victory, Prudhomme’s sixteenth, made him the game’s all-time winningest driver, a declare he would retain for greater than 5 years and 14 extra wins earlier than Bob Glidden handed him (31-30) on the 1980 World Finals. … Prudhomme’s factors rating of two,331 was already double that of second-place driver Tom Prock.

Quotable: “We kind of stuck our necks out with a lot of changes, and it was the case of either winning without hurting the engine or nothing at all. That race taught us a lot about ourselves, and we put that information to good use several times later in the season.”

Notes: After qualifying No. 1 with a 6.31, “the Snake” reset low e.t. and the observe e.t. file in spherical one regardless of an early-shutoff run of simply 209 mph. … The pole position marked Prudhomme’s fourth straight yr because the No. 1 qualifier on the occasion. … Fellow Granada Hills, Calif., racer Pickett gave him his hardest battle within the second spherical when Prudhomme shut off early and almost gave the race away. … After making straightforward passes of simply 209, 206, and 214 mph within the first three rounds, Prudhomme posted high pace of the meet (and one other observe file) within the last, the place he ran 230.17 in opposition to McEwen, who skilled a small fireplace in his automotive. … It was simply the second nationwide occasion last between the longtime rivals and former teammates; the primary was on the 1975 Fallnationals, which Prudhomme additionally received. … Prudhomme’s factors lead over second-place Greer was practically 2,000 factors. …

Quotable: “It was one of those races that I would like to have happen all of the time. There were no major problems that came up, and nothing unusual happened all weekend long. We just went out there and did what we planned to do.”

Notes: Prudhomme lastly broke his Summernationals jinx, scoring the one occasion win on the schedule that had eluded him till that time, but it surely wasn’t straightforward. … The group needed to overcome clutch issues and burned pistons alongside the way in which however took the No. 1 qualifying spot from Gary Burgin late in qualifying, 6.13 to six.21. … Burgin ran faster than Prudhomme within the first two rounds (6.18 and 6.29 to six.39 and 6.33) however obtained out of practice in opposition to McEwen within the semifinals. … Despite operating on simply seven cylinders, Prudhomme drove round a car-length final-round holeshot by McEwen to win by inches. … “The Snake’s” final-round victory over “the Mongoose,” his second straight, avenged his first-round loss to his rival at this occasion the yr earlier than that had ended Prudhomme’s bid for an ideal 1975 season. … Prudhomme once more set each ends of the observe file.

Quotable: “It was tough all the way. We lost some pistons in the semi’s, and there was a lot of hard work right up to the end. I guess you could say that we kind of lucked out at this one.”

Notes: Until the ultimate qualifying session, Prudhomme’s low-qualifying go of 6.18 was faster than any Top Fueler had run, however Richard Tharp saved face for the Top Fuelers by taking the No. 1 spot with a 6.11 on his last try. … With solely seven Funny Cars making the journey north of the border to Quebec, Prudhomme had a bye run within the first spherical. … In a rematch of the 1975 last, Prudhomme received with low e.t. and high pace of 6.17, 233.76, additionally each observe information. … It was Prock’s third straight final-round loss to Prudhomme in lower than two years.

Quotable: “It was a really good race. We did learn a lot from the Summernationals, and I think that it really showed up well at this event.”

Notes: Prudhomme grabbed the No. 1 spot late in qualifying, posting the quickest e.t. in school historical past, a observe file 5.97, simply the category’ second five-second go behind the 5.98 that he had run on the 1975 World Finals. … An earlier 6.03 qualifying run backed up the 5.97 to ascertain the nationwide file. … Burgin certified No. 4 and set high pace at 238.09 in spherical two. … Based on the primary three rounds, Prudhomme (6.05, 6.13, and 6.15) was the heavy final-round favourite in opposition to Burgin (6.12 and two 6.21s). … An oildown within the Modified last simply forward of them led Prudhomme to change from the left lane he had been operating all day to the fitting. The Monza shook early then hazed the tires, permitting Burgin to seize the lead he would by no means relinquish. … Despite the loss and the tip of his 30-round successful streak, Prudhomme earned sufficient factors to clinch the world championship with two occasions remaining on the schedule.

Quotable: “It was all my fault. I knew that some of the other guys were having trouble in that lane, but I thought that I could handle it. It was just one of those things.”

Notes: Prudhomme certified No. 1, shattering the 6.27 observe file with a 6.04 that was eight-hundredths faster than the No. 2 qualifier. … Top pace went to Pat Foster at 234.98. …Track circumstances modified for eliminations, and Prudhomme and crew chief Bob Brandt needed to battle to victory with 6.2s and 6.3s to launch one other lengthy round-win streak that may stretch into 1977 and attain 15 victories earlier than a surprising red-light within the semifinals of the Gatornationals. … McCulloch smoked the tires within the last at hand Prudhomme his milestone twentieth win.

Quotable: “That was a hard event for us to run. The concrete starting line made our car vibrate pretty bad, just like it did to everybody else, and it was very difficult to race. Still, we weren’t hurting any parts in the engine, and we managed to come away with the win.”

Notes: Another last-session blast put Prudhomme atop the pack with a 6.02 that supplanted Ron Colson’s 6.18 and gave him his largest “lead” getting into eliminations. … Prior to the 6.02, Prudhomme’s finest run had been 6.25 however at a booming 240.00 mph (high pace of the meet), so he and Brandt knew they’d the ability to go to No. 1. … McCulloch exploded the supercharger on the beginning line in opposition to Pat Foster within the semifinals however received when Foster crossed the centerline. Though the explosion destroyed the windshield and tin and broken the physique, the group made it to the road in time for the ultimate however was slowed by a nasty gasoline leak and couldn’t stage throughout the allotted time, giving Prudhomme a bye, on which he ran low e.t. of eliminations.

Quotable: “We changed engines after the 240-mph [qualifying] run and came back to run 6.02. We hurt that engine pretty bad on the run, though, so we put the other one back in and borrowed some combinations from the 6.02 engine to make it run better during eliminations.” 

Those have been the eight nationwide occasions on the schedule, and, as you may see, they have been spaced roughly a month aside, and groups like Prudhomme’s stored busy between the nationals with full slates of match races and a few divisional occasions, the place “the Snake” and Brandt additionally destroyed the competitors.

OTHER MAJOR EVENT WINS
Event	Track	Location
Winter Classic	Beeline Dragway	Phoenix
Fox Hunt	Orange County Int’l Raceway	E. Irvine, Calif.
Winston Series*	Fremont Raceway	Fremont, Calif.
64 Funny Car Spectacular	Irwindale Raceway	Irwindale, Calif.
Winston Series*	Seattle Raceway	Seattle
Manufacturers Fuel Funny Car Showdown	Byron Dragway	Byron, Ill.
Winston Series*	Edgewater Raceway Park	Cleves, Ohio
Super Stock Nationals	York U.S. Dragway	York, Pa.
Event identify unknown	Quaker City Dragway	Salem, Ohio
Northeast Funny Car Nationals	Lebanon Valley Dragway	W. Lebanon, N.Y.
Pop Rod Funny Car Preview	U.S. 131 Dragway	Martin, Mich.
Popular Hot Rodding Championships	U.S. 131 Dragway	Martin, Mich.
World Series of Drag Racing (Friday)	Cordova Dragway	Cordova, Ill.
World Series of Drag Racing (Saturday)	Cordova Dragway	Cordova, Ill.
Back to School Race	Fremont Raceway	Fremont, Calif.
Funny Car Team Championships	Irwindale Raceway	Irwindale, Calif.
Manufacturers Cup	Orange County Int’l Raceway	E. Irvine, Calif.
*Points-earning occasion

It’s price remembering that whereas Prudhomme went 30-1 in nationwide occasion competitors, he additionally suffered a hardly ever remembered loss at one of many points-counting divisional occasions when he drew a red-light within the last spherical of the Division 5 occasion at Colorado’s Pueblo Motorsports Park, shedding to Great Falls, Mont.’s Bill Spevacek. Because there have been three months between the Gatornationals and the Springnationals, Prudhomme hit the match-race path and in addition competed in a trio of divisional occasions, successful in Fremont and Seattle earlier than heading to Pueblo.

“It was a type of races the place they did not have a full eight-car subject, so the second spherical was truly the ultimate,” Prudhomme informed NHRA National Dragster in his 1976 champion interview. “I had the opposition fairly nicely lined and one way or the other both the spoiler or the load bar activated the staging beams as I got here as much as the road. As quickly because the starter pressed the button, I obtained a red-light in my lane.”

So, counting the six round-wins for his victories in Fremont and Seattle and one within the first spherical at Pueblo, I’ve Prudhomme’s points-counting spherical file at 37-2, or 94.8%.

While he undoubtedly additionally misplaced some rounds at match races, his points-counting rating remains to be one for the file books, and he additionally rewrote 19 observe information alongside the way in which, breaking observe requirements at Beeline Dragway, Byron Dragway, Connecticut Dragway, Edgewater Raceway Park, Famoso Dragstrip, Fremont Raceway, Gainesville Raceway, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Irwindale Raceway, National Trail Raceway, Orange County Int’l Raceway, Madison Township Raceway Park, Pomona Raceway, Pueblo Motorsports Park, Quaker City Dragway, Sacramento Raceway, Sanair Int’l Dragstrip, Seattle Raceway, and U.S. 131 Dragway.

So, let’s examine “the Snake’s” numbers in opposition to the fashionable “winners” in every of the classes:

While Herrera’s season is true there with Prudhomme’s now and again, apart from his No. 1 qualifying domination — each missed simply as soon as, however Herrera’s physique of labor spanned 15 races in comparison with “Snake’s” eight — the place he was clearly dominant.

My solely lingering query is how a lot tougher was it for Herrera to be pretty much as good as he was over practically twice as many races, plus media and sponsor obligations? Not that Prudhomme did not have obligations to the Army and had a very bigger season whenever you depend match racing and divisional occasions, however, as everyone knows, it is robust to check eras which can be so dynamically completely different from schedule to parity to funds to journey to trace preparation and the various different intangibles.

Plus, let’s not overlook that by the point Prudhomme started 1976, he’d been cut-throat nitro racing since 1963 whereas Herrera, regardless of a wealth of expertise on different bikes, solely had a half-season in 2022 to arrange for the pains of a nationwide occasion season.

And though Prudhomme and Herrera’s numbers are largely higher than these of Force, Schumacher, and Anderson on this comparability, it additionally jogs my memory of simply how nice these seasons have been for these drivers, and in addition how far the extent of parity has grown. I doubt we’ll ever see a Top Fuel or Funny Car driver win greater than three-quarters of the season’s occasions, simply as we most likely will not ever see a Funny Car driver win 10 straight championships as Force did 1993-2002 and even six straight as Schumacher did in Top Fuel within the early 2000s.

Phil Burgess could be reached at [email protected]

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