Crampton Leads Toyota in Front of Sell-Out Crowd At NHRA Qualifying In St. Louis
MADISON, IL – Richie Crampton qualified seventh in Top Fuel with a 3.710-second pass at 324.75 mph, while J.R. 
Todd registered a 3.890 at 333.75 mph for the eighth spot in Funny Car to lead Toyota into Sunday’s AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in suburban St. Louis.
Crampton enters Sunday looking for his second consecutive victory in the Countdown to the Playoffs after winning at Maple Grove in the playoff opener.
“We struggled yesterday and then had a part malfunction in Q3, so we really needed that last run,” said Crampton, who will race teammate Doug Kalitta in Sunday’s eliminations. “It’s unfortunate that we drew our teammate, Doug, in the first round, though. We have some momentum now and we’re looking for a big day tomorrow when it counts. We have a lot of people out here from DHL. We really appreciate all the help that Toyota has given us.”
Kalitta qualified tenth with a 3.741 to set up his match-up with Crampton. Kalitta takes the series point lead into tomorrow’s race.
Antron Brown finished right behind Kalitta in the 11th spot in Top Fuel with a 3.748-second pass. The three-time world champion will face his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Leah Pritchett in round one.
In Funny Car, Todd secured the eighth spot and will face Jack Beckman in round one in a Funny Car field featuring nine drivers who qualified with runs in the 3.8s.
“Hats off to my crew chiefs, Jon Oberhofer and Todd Smith, and all of the Yella Fellas,” said Todd, the reigning Funny Car world champion. “We have a motto on this DHL Toyota Camry team – never get down and never give up. Hopefully, we can turn on four win lights tomorrow.”
Shawn Langdon’s 3.905 placed him tenth in the field. He will race Tommy Johnson in the opener on Sunday.
FS1 kicks off its Sunday coverage with NHRA Sunday Live from 1:00-2:00 p.m., followed by Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations live on FS1 beginning at 2:00 p.m. (all times EDT).
