Defending Englishtown champ Richie Crampton ready for eliminations fight

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton will open Sunday’s eliminations at the 46th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals against a familiar foe when he lines up opposite Brittany Force. With a 3-0 mark against his fellow Auto Club Rookie of the Year award winner, Crampton’s early date with Force could be a great start to his Summernationals title defense.

“I’ve raced Brittany, Steve Torrence, and Larry Dixon three times each this year, the most of anyone in the field, and our record against her is the best of that bunch, so I hope we can keep it going,” said Crampton, the reigning Rookie of the Year (Force won the award in 2013). “I’ll tell you what, we never take her or that team for granted. They have their stuff together and we’ll need to be ready to go.”

The Lucas Oil team certainly will need to dial things up a notch as Force qualified sixth overall with a 3.747 at 322.50 mph, slightly better than Crampton’s 11th-best 3.784 at 320.89 mph.

“It got a little warmer out there today and we still put a 3.7 on the board, so we’re fairly pleased,” Crampton said. “You always want more. We wish we were qualified higher, but Top Fuel has seen so much parity this year it really doesn’t seem to matter where you start; it’s where you finish that counts.

“We were No. 2 qualifier when we won the last race in Topeka and No. 5 when we won earlier this year in Las Vegas. It would be great to add this one to the list, even though we’re starting from the 11th spot. The first round will be big.”

Crampton may be a bit tired for the race. His teammate and car owner, Morgan Lucas, the man who elevated Crampton from crewman to driver, is competing himself this weekend in the Sig Sauer/Lucas Gun Oil dragster. After qualifying, Lucas asked Crampton to rework his clutch for him, the job Crampton did before becoming a driver.

“I’m happy to help,” Crampton said. “With Morgan only racing part-time again this year, the crew gets stretched a bit, so it’s easy for me to jump in and lend a hand. I actually like the work. It keeps you focused, and I believe that the better you know the intricacies of the car, the better you can communicate with the crew chiefs.

“This is quite a weekend for us. It certainly was last year. Toyota is a big part of our program and this is their race, so it’s one you put a star by when you set up your calendar for the year. I saw Paul Doleshal from Toyota up there on the starting line when we ran, which is pretty cool. It makes you want to show off a bit.

“They say you never forget your first win, and for me it was Englishtown. This is my first time defending a race, so I want to do it right.”

Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. ET, Sunday, and will be aired in the afternoon on ESPN2.