Epping, New Hampshire (June 13, 2015) - Just one race removed form his second victory of the NHRA season, Lucas Oil-sponsored Top Fuel pilot Richie Crampton is poised for more success after qualifying a lofty second on the elimination grid of the third annual New England Nationals.
Crampton peeled off a lightning-quick 3.744-second pass at 325.92 mph under the lights Friday evening and that number held up through a pair of warmer sessions Saturday to secure the No. 2 starting spot for the team. Coincidentally, Crampton also qualified No. 2 when he won it all in three weeks ago in Topeka, Kan.
"It's great to get the pole but I'm perfectly happy with being No. 2," Crampton said. "I don't know what it is about being No. 1 but it doesn't always work out for the best. Being second you're almost overlooked a bit and that's just fine by us.
"Either way, no matter where you qualify, you have to execute on race day. We will start the day with lane choice, which is a nice advantage to have, and our goal will be to win the round and run well enough that we maintain that advantage moving forward."
Helping Crampton's side of the operation is the added benefit of having a teammate for this event. Car owner Morgan Lucas, who runs a part-time schedule as he learns the family business, Lucas Oil Products, from his parents, is running a Sig Sauer-themed dragster for the second weekend in a row, giving the crew chief Aaron Brooks twice as much data every round.
"It definitely helps having two swings at it each round," Crampton said. "You can never have enough data and when you double what you normally get, it's a bonus for sure. No two cars are the same but Aaron knows these two dragsters really well and can make adjustments even during a single round from one car to the other if necessary.
"It's also been a lot of fun having the Sig Sauer folks here with us. Their facility is just down the road and they were nice enough to show us around Thursday before the race. We got to shoot a bunch of different guns and see how they're made. It's quite a deal. You can see why the police and military rely on those guns. They put so much into every piece. Pretty neat stuff for a kid from Australia."
A native of Adelaide, Australia, Crampton will now focus his attention on first-round opponent Dan Mercier of Quebec, Canada, who qualified 15th with a best run of 4.376 at 197.86 mph.
ESPN2 will broadcast all the qualifying action from 7:30-10 p.m., Saturday, and the elimination rounds from 5-8 p.m., Sunday.
