The title of this column is a question I've been asking myself recently. A year ago, Dexter Dunn became the first driver this century to win the Dan Patch Driver of the Year award in three consecutive years (the award began in 2003) and he topped that by becoming a four-time winner in 2022, equaling Tim Tetrick (2007, 2008, 2012, 2013) atop the leaderboard in the category. Now, just five years since making the trek from his native New Zealand, we certainly have to wonder whether he has surpassed his contemporaries and become the best Standardbred driver in North America. While everyone will focus on the four consecutive Dan Patch titles, and I can certainly make a strong case that Tetrick should've won in 2019, Dunn actually did something historic in 2022. He became just the second driver in history to earn a place among the top 25 in single-season earnings with less than 2,000 starts during the year. John Campbell accomplished the feat in 2001 when he went behind the gate 1,803 times and his horses earned $14,182,238, or $393.30 per start based on his 5% commission. Dunn blew those numbers out of the water with $15,197,579 for just 1574 starts, an average of $482.77 for each trip around the track. While Tim Tetrick owns the record for most single-season earnings at $19,734,781 (2008), that was accomplished in 4,048 starts. Though it is worth noting when discussing the greatest ever that Tetrick has amassed eight of the top 10 seasons in terms of earnings and should eventually retire as the number one driver in terms of career winnings. While the reasoning behind Dunn's ascent to the top of his profession is based on more than simple numbers, they do tell much of the story. For instance, consider that Dunn was the only driver in the top 25 in wins at The Meadowlands in 2022 who produced a positive return on investment (6%) for bettors. Other than Joe Bongiorno (-4%), every other driver in the top 10 was -16% or lower (statistics courtesy StatsMaster). ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter More intuitively, Dunn has been moving horses up from various barns on a consistent basis at The Meadowlands. In December, after all of the stakes horses have been turned out and the only horses left on the track are the overnight warriors, Dunn put up 21 wins in 75 starts (28%) while more than doubling any other driver's win total during the month. On his last weekend in action before taking some holiday vacation time, he brought home CC Bank at 10-1 for owner trainer Frank Multari Jr., Love Me Hill at 4-1 for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr., Thanos at 2-1 for Travis Alexander, Livinthebeachlife at 2-1 for Ron Burke, Belmont Royale N at 3-5 for Nifty Norman and Ipanema Hanover at 7-5 for Jeff Cullipher. Six wins for six different trainers. Dunn also won for nine other trainers during December! That's what's so impressive, as many hot streaks are usually associated with a barn going on a good run, but Dunn is moving up all horses right now. What he does seem to do most effortlessly is place horses in a position to win. He's extremely adept at rating first-over on the rim and certainly seems to find his way behind cover more often than most. On a mile track like The Meadowlands, I'm not sure there is a driver I'd rather have, though there are a handful who are certainly on par. The above said, I've been less impressed with his half-mile-track prowess. Granted his sample size is small, but he only won 12% (108 starts) at Yonkers Raceway in 2022, seventh best among drivers with at least 100 starts. In comparison, Dunn won at 19% at The Meadowlands and 23.1% on the five-eighths at Harrah's Philadelphia. The results are indicative of Dunn's style of racing. He's simply not the most aggressive driver on the planet and that is the best style on smaller tracks. That's not to say he can't fire a horse out, but it is clear as day that he picks his spots to use a horse's early speed and prefers to conserve energy for later in the mile. Dunn is also quiet in the bike and doesn't overuse the whip. He has no whipping violations on his record or fines for removing his feet from the stirrups. The same can't be said for others who hold his profession. Interestingly, while we laud Dunn for his on-track prowess, specifically at The Meadowlands, he wasn't the leading driver at the oval in 2022. Yannick Gingras beat Dunn in wins (136 vs. 117) with an identical win percentage of 19%. George Brennan, who only showed up at The Big M sparingly last year, led all drivers with over 100 starts (20 total drivers) at 20%. Since Yonkers went on winter vacation on December 22, Brennan, a.k.a. the "Minister of Speed," is tied for second-most wins at The Meadowlands with fellow Yonkers stalwart Jordan Stratton and Scott Zeron at nine. Dunn is planning to return from vacation in the coming weeks and he seems likely to rise to the top of the standings as usual.