Top-half starting spot suits Lucas Oil pro Richie Crampton just fine

ATLANTA – The forecasted rain never arrived at Atlanta Dragway and in its place has been the hottest weather encountered so far this year on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, which Top Fuel sophomore driver Richie Crampton says levels the playing field for elimination rounds at the 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

“It’s going to be wide open tomorrow,” Crampton said. “As we saw today, a lot of cars struggled just to get from one end to the other under power, so this won’t be a race where you can just pound on the track and try to rotate the earth. We’re going to have to pull out the finesse game and make absolutely certain we get from A to B every round.

“I’m glad we have lane choice because any advantage you can have at this point is huge, but on the other hand, I really think it’s anyone’s game. One wrong move and you’re going home early. We need to be ready for anything.”

Crampton’s best pass in the Lucas Oil dragster was a 3.852 at 316.90 mph, which placed him seventh overall in the 16-car field. As such, he’ll begin eliminations against Brittany Force, who posted a best of 3.912 at 303.64 mph. Both drivers are past Rookie of the Year award winners; Force was honored in 2013 and Crampton in 2014.

“It’ll be a battle of the young guns, as they say,” Crampton said. “I think we all know what that team is capable of, so we certainly won’t take them lightly. We just need to concentrate on what we’re doing and try to master the track.

“I can probably say this every race but this is definitely one of those times I’m glad I’m not the crew chief. Making the calls on a hot track is very tough. In a drag racer’s mind, we want to go as fast as possible; pour everything into it. So when it’s hot like this and you have to pull back, it goes against our natural instincts.”

While crew chief Aaron Brooks works on a tune-up, Crampton will mentally prepare for what may happen in the cockpit.

“When it’s conditions like this you have to be ready for the car to lose traction. Normally, when that happens you pedal the car and get right back after it, but when you’re spinning the tires on a slick track you have to mentally prepare to let the car settle down before you get back on the gas, otherwise you’re right back to spinning the tires. It’s a mental game and it’s tough, but we’ll be ready.”

Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. with ESPN2 providing the television coverage.