INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The GEICO/Lucas Oil team and driver Richie Crampton completed a successful first test session on Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway with a new Top Fuel dragster built in-house at Morgan Lucas Racing.

Crampton, crew chief Aaron Brooks, and crewmember Jason Rush recently completed the new chassis in the team’s Brownsburg, Ind., shop. The plan is to use the car at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

“We’re really happy with the new race car and the way testing worked out,” Crampton said. “As far as test sessions go, we learned a lot and it was pretty successful.”

Crampton posted the second-fastest elapsed time (3.773 seconds) during Wednesday’s first day and had the fourth-best e.t. Thursday.

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton likes the new-car smell — and the new-car performance — of his Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel dragster.

Crampton and the MLR team debuted the new car during testing today at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, posting a best pass of 3.773 seconds at 324.36 mph on the first full run with the new chassis.

“We wanted to shake the thing down and make sure it responded well to all the stuff we were trying to do with it, and it did,” Crampton said.

Rain hampered the NHRA team’s testing at Indy in preparation for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on Aug. 29-Sept. 1, but Crampton was happy with the progress.

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BRAINERD, MN- Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton of Australia earned a spot in this year’s Countdown to the Championship Sunday at the 33rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals when teammate and car owner Morgan Lucas eliminated Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the opening round of eliminations. Vandergriff was the last driver within range of Crampton in the points, and with his dismissal from title contention Crampton became the only rookie-of-the-year candidate with a chance at the championship.

“That’s a big goal realized right there,” Crampton said. “At the start of the season we sat down and talked about things we wanted to accomplish in the regular season, and the top thing was to qualify for the Countdown. It’s huge for GEICO, Lucas Oil, and Toyota, and it’s especially big for the guys on this team that work so hard for us.

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BRAINERD, MN – Leading rookie-of-the-year candidate Richie Crampton already has experienced the joys of winning an NHRA national event, having earned the hardware in Englishtown, N.J. Now the Australian-born pro is hoping to cross off the next item on his to-do list, which is qualifying for the Countdown to the Championship.

After slotting a lofty fourth on the grid at this weekend’s 33rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Crampton knows he can take the final step towards achieving that goal with a big Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.

“Putting the GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster into the playoffs will be a huge accomplishment for a team with a rookie driver,” said Crampton, who served as a crewman under team owner Morgan Lucas for seven years before slipping behind the wheel of the 10,000 horsepower Top Fuel rail. “Going rounds tomorrow could seal the deal, I believe, so this will definitely be the biggest race day of my career so far.

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BRAINERD, MN – Brainerd Int’l Raceway is 10,000 miles from GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton’s hometown of Adelaide, Australia, but he’ll be right at home during the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals this weekend.

“It’s kind of a homecoming for Morgan Lucas Racing to go race in Brainerd,” Crampton said. “We love that track, and the people up there are fantastic. That event means a huge amount to Lucas Oil and everyone on this team. We like racing in Minnesota, and the weather is normally favorable for some pretty good times as well.

“It’s getting close to the Countdown to the Championship, and we are definitely looking to do some damage in Brainerd.”

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SEATTLE, WA – A bizarre set of circumstances left GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton out of the groove — and out of luck — in the second round of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals on Sunday at Pacific Raceways.

While backing up after his burnout before a matchup with Antron Brown, the idle in the engine of his Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel dragster suddenly rose. As Crampton scrambled to get control, the steering wheel snapped around, and the car was unable to get in the correct location on the starting line.

“Something happened after the burnout that caused the idle to get hung up a little bit,” Crampton said. “We were still backing up, and I had my hands full with holding the brake and trying to pull the throttle back to slow the idle down. I didn’t have a great grip on the steering wheel, and it snatched it right out of my hand.

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SEATTLE, WA – Richie Crampton and the GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team have been a picture of consistency at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals this weekend at Pacific Raceways.

Crampton made four passes in the 3.8-second range and snared the No. 4 qualifying spot for the final race of the Western Swing. It is the first time this season Crampton has made four full runs in qualifying, and that is thanks to crew chief Aaron Brooks being able to tune the car to a hot racetrack in Seattle.

“It’s huge for the GEICO team,” Crampton said. “Aaron Brooks has done a fantastic job. We’ve had hot weather in Seattle this weekend, and to string together four runs in the 3.80s and end up No. 4 in the qualifying order is a pretty impressive effort by the entire team.”

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SEATTLE, WA – After posting another semifinal appearance last weekend in Sonoma, GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton turns his focus to the next stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour, the 27th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals, Aug. 1-3, at Pacific Raceways.

“I’m pretty excited to race in Seattle,” Crampton said. “We will have some great air and a fairly good racetrack to lay down some pretty strong numbers. We all know how well Aaron Brooks likes those kind of conditions, and the GEICO team does a great job of putting together a great race car for Aaron. Definitely after what we have learned this past weekend and going some rounds in Sonoma, it’s pretty exciting to head up to the Northwest and try to throw down some decent numbers.”

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SONOMA, CA – Rookie of the Year candidate Richie Crampton turned in one of his best outings of the season Sunday with a semifinal showing at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. It’s the Australian’s second semifinal result of 2014, bettered only by his victory last month in Englishtown, N.J.

“The GEICO team did a fantastic job again today,” Crampton said. “We’re still not having the very best race day luck that I know we would like to have, but nonetheless it was a good outing for us again.

“I really feel like we’ve turned a corner here. It’s getting-down-to-business time in the season, so it’s a good time to start making some strong Sunday runs and winning as many rounds as we can.”

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SONOMA, CA – With his best qualifying effort in the last four races, GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton is ready for a long day at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

Crampton’s pass of 3.799 seconds at 324.05 mph put him in the No. 5 spot, his best position since Epping, N.H. That day, Crampton raced to the semifinals, a performance he’d like to repeat — and then some.

“I’m always confident with Aaron Brooks and this entire GEICO team putting together a fantastic race car,” Crampton said. “It’s great to be in the top half of the field. That obviously adds to the confidence. I think we should have a successful race day tomorrow.”

Crampton lines up against Mike Salinas in the first round of eliminations. Salinas qualified No. 12 with a lap of 3.905 seconds at 287.96 mph.

The leading contender for the NHRA rookie of the year award, Crampton took advantage of the best weather conditions of the weekend in the second qualifying session. The 3.799-second pass could have been faster, but Brooks wanted to make sure Crampton got down the track in Q2.

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