It would be an understatement to say that Frank Manzo has nothing left to prove behind the wheel of a Top Alcohol Funny Car, and after years of hinting that he would hang up his helmet, it appears that the 16 time Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series champion is finally ready to ride off into the sunset and embark on the next chapter of his legendary racing career.

After winning the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis for the 11th time (the most by any driver in Indy history), Manzo stated that he was done driving after the 2013 season. That comment fired up the rumor mill, and two weeks later in Charlotte, he was asked directly about his future plans.

“This is my last year,” said Manzo emphatically after his win on Sunday on ESPN3’s online broadcast.

Manzo, who assumed the points lead from Tony Bartone with his decisive win at the zMax Dragway over Mickey Ferro, hinted that this might have been his final race, offering that he may attend Maple Grove or Dallas to close out his driving career. With his back-to-back wins at Indy and Charlotte, Manzo has spring-boarded into the drivers seat for another national championship, but would need to attend additional events to make that a reality. In his interview, however, he pointed out that chasing the title may not be in the cards.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do on the Pro Mod with Shiekh Khalid (Al Thani, owner of Al-Anabi Racing), and right now that’s my first priority,” he said.

While Manzo has never competed in the NHRA’s professional ranks, his career accomplishments mark him as one of the greatest drivers in drag racing history, without question. 103 career national events wins (second all-time), 16 Lucas Oil world championships (most NHRA titles all-time by any driver), an unprecedented 21 NHRA divisional championships, currently the winner of a staggering 42 straight national event finals dating back to the 2006 season opener, and the rightful owner of the quickest Top Alcohol Funny Car pass in NHRA history at 5.411 seconds.

Manzo has shown his prowess out of the seat in recent seasons, tuning ADRL Pro Extreme star Alex Hossler to victories in the ADRL and in Qatar, also helping notch the quickest 1/8-mile pass in doorslammer drag racing history at 3.51-seconds last winter.

If this truly is Manzo’s last hurrah, we’ll certainly miss seeing him out there, but no doubt it’s been one heck of a ride watching “Ace” make history.