Doug Doll was dead wrong.

The then six-time NHRA national event and Super Comp racer Doll admitted to National DRAGSTER's Kevin McKenna when Charlie Greco called him to drive his six-cylinder dragster that didn’t think he’d be the best choice for the job.

Doll then proceeded to accumulate the most points ever gathered by a Competition Eliminator racer, scoring a perfect claim of 730 points on the strength of three national event victories and five divisional wins.

"Yeah, it was definitely not what we expected going into the season," Doll told WFORadio.com's Joe Castello. "That’s for sure. We definitely exceeded any of our expectations."

Doll admitted in the early going that the team just wanted to refine what they believed would be a strong combination. Not knowing Greco personally, he learned through acquaintances the resolve this team owner had for doing things the right way.

"I just knew everything he did he did the right way," Doll explained. "He doesn’t mess around. He definitely puts everything into it that needs to be put into it to be successful. I knew when we sat down, and we had talked about the possibility of me driving the car, I knew that if everything worked out, it would be something that we would definitely be capable of winning a lot of races with."
 
And to think, Doll and Greco's so-called pit bull combination was nothing more than a 298 cubic inch, straight 6-cylinder built by Black Arrow Race Engines racing in E/Dragster Automatic.

Doll didn't have to be the quickest in the class, just quicker than everyone else running in his classification, and deeper under his index than the other racers in Competition.

Consistently, Doll played the index game better than anyone else. When he raced Super Comp, everyone ran the same index all the time, and heads up. However, the pressure was still the same for a point leader trying to fend off a class full of championship-hungry racers.

In years past, Doll had come close on different occasions to winning the NHRA Super Comp title but had never come close with a perfect claim.

"I was definitely more determined to not blow it, to make sure we accomplished the goal," Doll said. "At the same time, a lot of friends and a lot of my fellow racers would come up to me at the track and they’d say, ‘Ah man, you’re going to win it, you’re going to win it."

Just as Doll didn't think he was a worthy candidate for Greco's seat, he didn't want to hear this kind of talk.

"That’s just something you don’t want to hear when you’re in a points chase," Doll said. "Even though it’s positive energy, you know coming from your competitors and your friends, at the same time, when you get that close to winning it and you don’t, you just never want to hear it. Because you know how easy it is to let it slip away. So I just didn’t want to listen to any of that talk until it was just about over with."

Doll said he finally accepted the title was his, although not mathematically official, at the NHRA Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

Accepting the championship was easier for Doll than potentially not being able to defend his title will be.

"Right now, my plans are really up in the air," Doll said. "Charlie is selling the car, and he’s been racing for 30 years, and just ready to do some other things and pursue some other interests. So I’m on the outside looking in right now. We have a few things in the works and some possibilities, and if nothing comes through, well, we’ll end up back in our Super Comp car for next year."  

While Doll acknowledges what he and Greco were able to accomplish something special this season, he also realizes that this year's success will no doubt be a confidence builder.

"You hear a lot of talk about people who jump in cars and guys that are real talented can jump in any car, and just go out and win it the first time in the car," Doll explained. "That’s not something I was ever able to do."

This was the case until now.