POMONA, CA – GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton had quite the wild day at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals on Sunday in Pomona.

He scored a first-round win after turning his Morgan Lucas Racing dragster nearly completely sideways, but then his day went up in smoke almost immediately in the second round.

But Crampton also showed plenty of speed, as crew chief Aaron Brooks tuned him to a No. 2 qualifying spot, and Crampton quickly earned his first round-win of the 2015 season.

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POMONA, CA – GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton continues to show speed in Pomona, qualifying No. 2 for this weekend’s season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals.

Crampton, the 2014 Road to the Future Award winner as NHRA’s top rookie, qualified No. 1 in Pomona last November, and Morgan Lucas Racing teammate Morgan Lucas won the race.

Crampton’s pass of 3.730 seconds at 328.46 mph was tops of three terrific passes at this event; a fourth was washed out when rain forced NHRA to cancel the final qualifying session.

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POMONA, CA – After capturing his first No. 1 qualifier during his last trip to the birthplace of drag racing, GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton is looking to repeat his success when he returns for the season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 5-8.

“We haven’t changed a thing really in the off-season on the race car,” Crampton said, “and that’s largely because we had a fantastic run at the last race of 2014 in Pomona. It’s always a great feeling to be able to take that same car back to the same racetrack and try doing it all again.”

Entering his sophomore season on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit, the reigning Rookie of the Year is displaying more confidence than usual and has already made big plans for success in the upcoming races.

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IRVINE, CA – U.S. Nationals winner Richie Crampton is one of six nominees for Racer magazine’s Rookie of the Year as part of its 20th annual Racer of the Year awards.

The Road to the Future Award recipient as NHRA’s top rookie, Crampton won two races in his first season driving the GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster for Morgan Lucas Racing.

Voting opened this week online for the magazine’s 20th annual Racer of the Year competition. Readers can vote in six categories through Jan. 12, 2015, with the final results announced in the spring 2015 issue and on www.racer.com. Crampton was the only driver among the six nominees to win in his class in 2014.

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POMONA, CA – A day after the season finale in Pomona, GEICO /Lucas Oil Top Fuel rookie Richie Crampton was named the NHRA Road to the Future Award recipient during Monday night’s NHRA Awards Ceremony.

The NHRA Road to the Future Award honors the top-performing rookie in the sport every year. During his inaugural season, Crampton was the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Finals and scored wins at the prestigious 60th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the 45th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, N.J. In addition, his win in Englishtown made him the 100th different winner in Top Fuel class history.

“This whole experience is still surreal to me,” said Crampton, who also earned a $20,000 bonus. “I’ve said it before but I am a truly spoiled rookie. To be able to be in the equipment I am in and surrounded by the people I am, it doesn’t get any better. I am truly blessed and honored to be in this position.”

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POMONA, CA – Top rookie-of-the-year candidate Richie Crampton was hoping to turn his No. 1 qualifying effort at the 50th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals into his third victory of the season. Unfortunately, the driver of the GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster lost a close quarterfinal race to newly re-crowned champion Tony Schumacher by just .017-second to close a very impressive first year.

“I’m eternally grateful to Forrest, Charlotte, and Morgan Lucas for giving me this incredible opportunity to realize my dream this year. I’m humbled by the faith GEICO, Lucas Oil, Toyota, and all the other sponsors of this team showed in an unproven driver. This year has been beyond anything I could have hoped for and it’s a bit sad it’s over.

“Of course, I wanted to reward everyone with one more win and we had the car to beat Schumacher. It just came down to a few inches and he was on the right side of it this time. No matter, we still had a great weekend and a superb year and I’m so pleased with everything that’s happened.”

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POMONA, CA – Earning the No. 1 qualifying position for the NHRA Finals on Saturday was a fitting cap to an astounding rookie season for GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton.

In his first season in Top Fuel, Crampton has won two races, including the U.S. Nationals, and reached the Countdown to the Championship. Until Saturday, though, a No. 1 qualifier had eluded him. But after nearly making the quickest pass in Top Fuel history, Crampton now has one.

“It feels great,” Crampton said. “We’ve been so close to being No. 1 a few other races this season, so it’s an awesome feeling to put that on the list of my accomplishments this year. Obviously, it’s been an amazing year.”

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POMONA, CA – Rookie driver Richie Crampton brings his two-time winning GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster to the birthplace of drag racing for the final race of the 2014 season with one goal in mind: Making a little more history at the season-ending 50th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals.

Crampton already has shown a propensity for shining brightest at the perfect time. His impressive first year includes victories at the prestigious 60th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the 45th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals, which made him the 100th different winner in Top Fuel class history.

“With this being the 50th annual Finals, it would be another sweet one to win, for sure,” Crampton said. “This year has already exceeded all my dreams and hopes, but it would be a perfect finish for the team to get one more at such a landmark race.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Top Fuel pilot Richie Crampton added another elimination round-win to his impressive rookie resume Sunday before bowing out to Billy Torrence in the quarterfinal round of the NHRA Toyota Nationals. A two-time winner this season, Crampton now has 19 individual round-victories, tied for most among rookie drivers.

“It was a decent outing but we all wanted more, to be honest,” Crampton said. “A few of the drivers we’re very close to in the Mello Yello points went out early, and I feel like we had a great chance to move up a spot or two but it wasn’t meant to be.

“We ran OK today. We had some mechanical issues here but that’s actually pretty normal for this track because the air is a bit thinner. As we all saw, there was a lot of engine carnage out there today.”

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LAS VEGAS – Although he didn’t end up with his first career low qualifier award despite holding that slot through three of four qualifying sessions, rookie of the year front-runner Richie Crampton was all smiles after climbing out of the cockpit of his GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster.

Crampton rode crew chief Aaron Brook’s always-reliable cool-weather tune-up to three lightning-quick 3.7-second passes, which is sure to strike fear in the hearts of his potential opponents in Sunday’s elimination rounds. His best run of 3.748 seconds at 325.14 mph, which put him on the provisional pole Friday, ended up slotting him fourth on the race day grid.

“Yeah, aside from the first run when we had a mechanical issue, the car’s been perfect,” Crampton said. “I don’t know that too many teams will be happy top see us in the other lane.

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