Richie Crampton, Lucas Oil team ready for pivotal race in Reading
READING, PA – The NHRA Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway is always an important race in the battle for 
the Top Fuel championship, but it will take on added importance this year for Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton.
The second-year racer has struggled at the first two Countdown to the Championship events, and he and the Morgan Lucas Racing team need a quick turnaround to get back in the Top Fuel points race.
“It’s going to be a huge weekend,” Crampton said. “We need to turn our Countdown around, and what better place to do it than at a racetrack like that in those conditions.”
Maple Grove Raceway is known for having record-setting conditions, and this weekend’s forecast could produce more national records — should the rain stay away.
“I’m really excited about racing at Reading and the new concrete race surface, as well as the fact that it’s looking like the weather conditions are going to lend themselves to near-national record times,” Crampton said. “As a driver, that makes for a very exciting race, particularly when you get to drive the Lucas Oil car like I do. You know it can run in the 3.60s.”
Crampton did that in winning in Brainerd four races go. His winning elapsed time of 3.695 not only beat Brittany Force, but it also was the third-quickest e.t. in NHRA history.
The Brainerd win was his fourth of the 2015 season and sixth of his young career, and it cemented his place as a threat to win the Top Fuel championship, but misfortune and struggles led to first-round exits at the first two races of the Countdown, and Crampton now sits seventh in the points standings. There’s still time to rally, but he knows it has to start in Reading, and he’s ready for the challenge.
“All things being equal, every bit of information that we’ve received is that they’ve run quite a lot of cars down that new concrete surface,” Crampton said. “Maple Grove and the staff there do a fantastic job with the facility, and we’ve got no reason to believe that it won’t be better than it was when we ran there last year. We should see some exciting racing for the fans and for the drivers. It’s going to be pivotal in the Countdown.”
Top Fuel qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2 and 5 p.m., Friday, and noon and 3:30 p.m., Saturday. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
