NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

A year ago, Christopher Dodd was seemingly unbeatable, racking up five Super Comp victories en route to his first world championship in the class.

The victories didn’t come as frequently in 2021, but thanks to a number of consistent performances, the end result was the same, and Dodd joined some elite company in the process. By winning a second straight title, he became just the fourth driver in Super Comp history to win back-to-back titles since the first champ was crowned in 1987.

He joined the likes of Scotty Richardson, Top Fuel star Shawn Langdon, and Gary Stinnett, who finished sixth this year, to accomplish the feat, which made an already impressive run that much sweeter for the Texan.

“To go back-to-back, it’s pretty hard to believe we’ve won two in a row,” Dodd said. “I knew it was a short list, but when somebody told me that it’s only been three other people, that was extra motivation to try and get it. It’s a pretty incredible list to join, that’s for sure.”

Dodd had to sweat this one out and hope the lead he had built through the season would hold up in Pomona.

Devin Isenhower had a chance to jump in front at the finale and won his first-round matchup — one that Dodd purposely made sure he didn’t watch that morning — but he broke out a round later to hand the championship to Dodd.

He was nervously watching that round with his father, Sean, as he ran the gamut of emotions watching on NHRA.tv. It ultimately ended with sheer joy after the second world title became official.

“I didn’t want to watch the first round, so I made sure I scheduled a couple of appointments,” Dodd said. “I was pulling into the parking lot at the office when they were starting round two, and you couldn’t pull my dad away from the computer. He was watching, so I sat down. When the win light came on [for Damon Bustamante], it was just disbelief, but it was just awesome knowing I had clinched the title.”

It was another rewarding season for Dodd, albeit a far different one from his 2020 title run. He opened the year red-hot, winning at No Problem Raceway. Another victory didn’t come until October, but he put together plenty of impressive performances along the way, advancing to the quarterfinals or better at the next four races, including a final-round appearance at the national event in Topeka in August.

He hoped for more victories, but Dodd couldn’t complain with the points he racked up with strong performances in Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Okla., and Topeka.

“We were going a bunch of rounds, we just couldn’t finish the race,” Dodd said. “We were just losing close races. We put together a new combination about three years ago, and the first year we were kind of just learning it. It’s a little different from what we had been running, but the new combination really works well, and it was really good right out of the box.

“The speed I go, it helps my style of driving, and it’s just a great all-around combination.”

After picking up 40 points in St. Louis, Dodd knew he needed a big finish to grab another title. He got just that, advancing to the semifinals at the divisional race in Noble, Okla. With the Houston race being completed at Texas Motorplex just days later in the middle of the week before the Dallas national event, Dodd could sense the momentum building.

“I looked at it like that Noble race pumped me up. I was driving well, and we came right back to Dallas. The way we were running, it was a good thing to try to pull that off,” Dodd said.

Dodd unloaded everything that Sunday and loaded right back up, heading to Dallas and pulling off the victory there to put him back in command in the championship hunt.

“I drove really well in that race, and after those two races, I thought we might be able to do this,” Dodd said. 

The Houston victory was enough to give him the title, doing just enough to stand out in a loaded Super Comp class. That meant a great deal to Dodd, who grew up a huge fan of the class and now is thriving in it. The class continues to be filled with heavy hitters, which adds considerable weight to the significance of winning two straight titles.

“One of my favorite things growing up was watching Super Comp,” Dodd said. “Seeing some of the most elite racers out there racing Super Comp, you just knew it was ultra-competitive. That’s something that always stuck out to me. Now, you go into the staging lanes for the first round, and you don’t really want to go up against anyone.

“The top 50, the top 100 are all great, and there’s so many good drivers in the class. There’s a ton of talent, and that makes for exciting racing. To win two [titles] in a row, it’s just crazy.”

Dodd also extended his thanks to Advanced Product Design (APD), Adam at A-1 Performance, his father, his mother, Teri, his brother, Jonathon, Reher-Morrison, Sullivan Motorsports, Goodyear tires, Eric Davis at Penske Shocks, Jason at Mark Williams, Dewco Drive Line, Luke Bogacki and Justin Lamb at ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE, Billy Torrence, Rodger Brogdon/RoofTec, Accelerated Graphics, Chris Benham, and Shane Eperjesi.