SONOMA, CA – GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton hopes to pad his rookie resume during the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

Crampton, a 34-year-old from Adelaide, Australia, is the leading contender for the NHRA rookie-of-the-year award. He sits 10th in the Top Fuel points standings with four races left before the Countdown to the Championship, which features the top 10 drivers.

Crampton is the only rookie to win in 2014, as he stormed to victory lane in Englishtown, N.J., earlier this season. He’s also raced to one semifinal and four quarterfinals with 10 round-wins this year.

Continue reading →

DENVER, CO – GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton stepped up his performance in the Mile High City by advancing to the second round of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway.

Crampton took down No. 5 qualifier Shawn Langdon in round one of final eliminations on the mountain, a big accomplishment for him and his Morgan Lucas Racing team.

“That first round against Shawn Langdon was huge for us,” Crampton said. “We ran a little better than we did in qualifying and I felt like I did an OK job driving, so it was good to get that round-win.”

Continue reading →

DENVER, CO – The thin air around Bandimere Speedway always plays tricks on NHRA Top Fuel teams, but GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton believes he and his Morgan Lucas Racing team are up to the task for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals on Sunday.

“Running up here on the mountain is always tough for everybody,” Crampton said. “We’ve had our fair share of troubles here in qualifying, but so has everybody else.

“It should be a pretty standard Denver race day tomorrow, which means it’s anyone’s race. I’m confident that (crew chief) Aaron Brooks and the GEICO team are ready to go racing.”

Continue reading →

DENVER, CO – GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton doesn’t hold back when he talks about goals for the Western Swing, which begins with this weekend’s Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

The leading contender for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series rookie of the year award would love nothing more than to win all three races on the Swing: in Denver, Sonoma, and Seattle.

“Sweeping the Swing is what everyone is trying to do out here, and that would be the ultimate,” Crampton said. “I have all the confidence in the world in (crew chief) Aaron Brooks and my GEICO guys. We’ll see how it goes.”

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Richie Crampton and his GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster team finally figured out Summit Motorsports Park, but it wasn’t enough to overcome points leader Doug Kalitta.

Crampton made his best pass of the weekend in Round 1 of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Sunday, but he ran into the Kalitta buzz saw.

“That was a heck of a good run,” Crampton said. “Unfortunately, it was just against the wrong opponent.”

Crampton’s pass was 3.779 seconds at 323.35 mph, but No. 2 qualifier Kalitta went even quicker with a run of 3.752 seconds at 327.51 mph that was low of the round.

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Chicago Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Hector Arana Jr. was in danger of not qualifying for eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals until a phenomenal run Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park has him positioned to take home his second win of the season.

After a shaky first day of qualifying for the Lucas Oil Buell rider, Arana showed his true skill Saturday with a 6.859 at 195.79 mph in Q4 to land him No. 2 overall.

“I wasn’t worried,” Arana said. “I knew we had the bike to get in. It was just getting the bike to leave the line that was the issue. From Chicago with my brother not getting in, we put my tire on his bike to eliminate that problem. We tried an old and a new tire on my Buell and both times it didn’t get down the track. We ended up going back to the one we had been running all year and it went right down no problem. Of course, we softened it up because we knew we had to get in.

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton found himself in a similar situation as in Chicago, still needing to qualify for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals when he pulled up to the starting line in the final qualifying session Saturday night.

After two shaky runs in qualifying Friday and a motor blowing up in Q3, Crampton had one chance to put his Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel dragster in the field. A 3.905 at 302.21 mph was just enough to get Crampton the No. 15 qualifying spot and pitted against No. 2 Doug Kalitta in the first round of final eliminations Sunday.

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – As the NHRA community celebrates Independence Day at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend at Summit Motorsports Park, GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton celebrates the anniversary of his United States citizenship.

Crampton, a native of Adelaide, Australia, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in July 2012 after moving to the States in 2004 to chase his dream of driving an NHRA Top Fuel dragster.

“It was always a good holiday and time of the year for me,” Crampton said of the Fourth of July. “After I became a U.S. citizen, I pay more attention to what it means and enjoy it even more because I’m more connected to it.”

Continue reading →

CHICAGO, IL – Drag racing luck can change in a moment’s time, and on Sunday at the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel pro Richie Crampton experienced the best and worst of it all.

Crampton won an unlikely first-round race despite a mechanical malfunction that quieted his 8,000-horsepower motor well before the finish line. He then had a chance to take out past world champion Antron Brown but came up short after an exciting pedaling contest in the quarterfinals.

“We fully expected to run another fast pass in Round 1 and the car was marching along but it suddenly broke an intake valve,” Crampton said. “That caused the motor to backfire, which initiates the safety system, so the parachutes popped out and we were just coasting along, completely dead in the water.

Continue reading →

CHICAGO, IL – Showing a flair for the dramatic and his continued usefulness as a former crewmember, GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster pilot Richie Crampton jumped from out of the qualifying field to the No. 6 position in the final round of time trials to successfully make the cut at the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

Crampton’s last-gasp 3.792 at 324.20 mph in Saturday’s afternoon heat and humidity showed the incredible fortitude of crew chief Aaron Brooks as well as a little bit of handwork from Crampton himself, not just in the cockpit but in the setup of the car itself.

“First of all, what a gutsy call by Aaron,” Crampton said. “We ended up sixth, but when he made that final run with everything on the line we went from out of contention to the No. 2 spot. That takes guts, man, and Aaron went for it and had enough belief in himself to stick to his plan. That’s a huge confidence boost for all of us.

Continue reading →