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Southeast Texas native and two-time world champion drag racer Coleman Roddy waited nearly 40 years to be inducted into the National Hot Rod Association Hall of Fame. Thankfully, the wait for his latest award didn’t take nearly as long.

The local legend received a new trophy commemorating his career achievements which will be displayed in his exhibit at Port Arthur’s Museum of the Gulf Coast.

“This is just something we wanted to do for the museum because it’s such an honor for us to be in it,” Roddy said. “I’m very glad that we were able to get it put together, because at first, I really didn’t think it was going to happen.”

Roddy and the Museum of the Gulf Coast had to receive the NHRA’s blessing in order to have the trophy commissioned — it honors Roddy’s overall contributions to the sport of drag racing and recognizes his induction into the NHRA Hall of Fame. 

The sizable award depicts a posing drag racer at the top in a shiny gold color. It’s a visual upgrade compared to most Wally’s, as the trophies are affectionately known, which come in a darker bronze. The front is adorned with Roddy’s name, photo and Hall of Fame induction date.

He and museum director Tom Neal said the goal was to create something museum-goers, and particularly children, could connect to when they visit.

“With stories like Coleman’s and others, it’s for the kids,” Neal said. “When a kid sees somebody who has aspirations, and they follow the voice that inspires them, that’s what I’m talking about.”

Roddy’s racing career was a short one, but he was incredibly accomplished considering the amount of time he spent on the circuit. He became the first person to win back-to-back NHRA Winston Competition eliminator titles in 1983 and 1984 and earned one of the sport’s highest honors, the Quaker State Sportsman Cup.

After the 1984 championship, Roddy walked away from competition at the peak of his powers and retired to help run the family business at R&R Auto with his father. 

“I retired as a very young man,” Roddy said. “I could have been on top of my game for another 10 or 15 years if we had the funding and made, potentially, a tremendous impact on our sport more than I did. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

The two-time champ said he misses racing all the time, but he’s at peace with how his career turned out and feels lucky to have made the mark he did on drag racing. Now, he wants to make sure the community supports the Museum of the Gulf Coast.

Roddy’s name has been in the museum since the mid-1990s. His display includes personal items such as his old racing shoes, the Quaker State Sportsman Cup trophy and a helmet which once saved his life when he was ejected from a race car in a wreck.

And, of course, it’ll have new hardware in it soon enough.

“This museum deserves a tremendous amount of credit for what they do for me and a lot of the guys that I know,” Roddy said. “We need to do everything we can to help people understand what’s here because this is the real deal, man. I am tremendously honored.”