ST. LOUIS (Sept. 28) - A not so funny thing happened as GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Richie Crampton was cruising to a first-round victory at the NHRA Midwest Nationals on Sunday at Gateway Motorsports Park.

The engine in his Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel dragster shut off about 300 feet short of the finish line, and Crampton was an upset victim to No. 15 qualifier Kyle Wurtzel.

"We just tried to make an A-to-B run and not get too crazy," Crampton said. "The thing wasn't going to set the world on fire, but it was going to be a nice, clean run. Apparently, something shut the ignition and fuel pump off at 700 feet. We were coasting through the lights. Subsequently, he was able to get around us. It's pretty disappointing."

Crampton, the No. 2 qualifier, left first and was pulling away at the eighth-mile, but as he coasted to a pass of 3.950 seconds at 263.82 mph, Crampton was passed in the lights.

Wurtzel's run was 3.911 seconds at 310.84, with the margin of victory being .0357-second.

Crampton willed his GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster to the finish line, but it wasn't quite enough.

"I knew I wasn't on a heck of a run, but nonetheless I thought we were out in front by a good amount," Crampton said. "I was hoping that we'd have enough momentum to coast over the finish line first. Evidently, it was a heck of a close race at the finish line when we drove around us.

"It's just unfortunate that we've got something going on with the race car right now. We've got to figure out what made it shut off and fix it."

Crampton is the leading contender for the NHRA rookie of the year award with two victories, including the U.S. Nationals, and though the Countdown to the Championship hasn't started the way Crampton wanted, there are still three races remaining to do some damage.

"The first three races of the Countdown hasn't started the way we would've liked," Crampton said. "But the way everything's going, it's still bunched up pretty good in the top 10. I have the utmost confidence that the guys will find what happened here, and we'll be back to running strong again in Reading."