From a modest initial goal of just wanting to do well enough to see his name printed in National Dragster, Port Arthur's Coleman Roddy blazed a path of driving glory that twice took him to the pinnacle of the National Hot Rod Association's drag racing wars. Instead of merely going on to be mentioned in National Dragster, Roddy wound up featured in its cover for winning back-to-back NHRA Winston Competition eliminator titles in 1983 and 1984, something no other driver accomplished, before or since.

 

     Roddy might have set the bar even higher, but he retired after the 1984 championship to devote more time to the Port Arthur and Nederland used car dealerships - R&R Auto - that he operates with his father.  Roddy's meteoric rise onto the national racing scene began in the late '70s behind the wheel of a '68 Camero. His first significant win was in 1976, when he captured Modified honors at the Division 4 Winston Series race at State Capitol Dragway in Baton Rouge.

 

     The escalation to the big time came five years later when NHRA did away with the Modified eliminator class, which led him to switch to a '65 Corvette gasser and move into the Competition Eliminator category. There would be another car change after the 1983 title - this time to an '84 Pontiac Firebird - but nothing slowed Coleman Roddy's pursuit of greatness. In addition to the NHRA Winston Competition eliminator titles in '83 and '84, his three-years of domination included twice winning the Winter Nationals, being named Sportsman Racer of the Year, and earning the Quaker State Sportsman Cup.