Rookie contender Crampton looking for a Texas-sized comeback in Dallas

DALLAS, TX – After qualifying for the Countdown to the Championship in his rookie year, GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton is ready to put himself in title contention at the NHRA FallNationals.

The leading rookie of the year contender wasted no time laying down the law in Q1. With a 3.816-second pass at 319.60 mph on his first trip down Texas Motorplex, Crampton made it known that he was there to win it all.

“Dallas has been good so far,” Crampton said. “We unloaded out of the box strong with a 3.81. Things are looking really good still even if we just slightly missed it on the Friday night session. That was the make-or-break deal where a lot of the other teams were running in the high-3.70 range. We were swinging for the fence as well but didn’t quite make it.

“Today was more like how tomorrow is going to be. So even though we didn’t make it down there today, we’ve gained some really valuable information from those two runs. We’re pretty excited for the direction we’re heading tomorrow.”

Ending qualifying in the No. 9 spot, Crampton will look to take out the hometown hero, No. 8 Spencer Massey, in the first round of eliminations to keep himself in the championship hunt.

“It’s definitely a mindset of going out there and trying to kick their butts to win rounds nowadays,” Crampton said. “The rookie thing, for me, is kind of fading at this point in the season.

“It’s business time, so we have to go out there and win. It’s going to be tough to get around Spencer, the local guy, but I think we have something for that DSR team.”

Final eliminations for the NHRA FallNationals in Dallas are slated for 11 a.m. with tape-delay coverage on ESPN2 Sunday night.