Lucas Oil’s Richie Crampton ready to double up in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton will bring some momentum into the NHRA Toyota Nationals on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Not only did Crampton win the most recent race, in Dallas, but he was also fast in the final qualifying session in Vegas, where his pass of 3.752 seconds at 317.94 mph earned him the No. 5 spot heading into the first round of eliminations.

“Really happy to make a solid run like that in Q4 and head into race day with a top-five qualifying spot,” Crampton said. “That’s what we want to do, and that’s what we’ve got to do to try and continue to push forward in this Countdown. I’m looking forward to it.”

Crampton sits third in the Top Fuel points standings with two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship. He’s a long shot to catch points leader Antron Brown, but he’s within 70 points of second-place Tony Schumacher.

Crampton is in the midst of a stellar season, having won five races in five final-round appearances. His first victory of the season was here in April, when he also qualified No. 5.

“We have the data from the spring race here to look back at,” Crampton said. “But, man, that seems like so long ago that it’s not necessarily going to guarantee we’re going to go four rounds again tomorrow like we did.

“We’ve got a good race car again, and I can’t say enough about the Lucas Oil team. It’s a good place to be.”

Crampton begins his quest for a Las Vegas sweep against Troy Buff, who qualified No. 12 with a top lap of 3.828 seconds at 314.68 mph.

“We’re not taking anyone lightly, particularly not this deep into the Countdown like we are,” Crampton said. “It’s going to be a good race. That Bill Miller car has been running better and better, and we’re definitely going to have a fight on our hands to get any round-wins at all tomorrow. The class is tough, but we’ve got a good car, so we should be all right.”