Richie Crampton’s day ended early at the AAA Midwest Nationals as the SealMaster driver lost in the first round.
Crampton had an outstanding second qualifying pass on Friday evening. The SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel dragster blazed down Gateway Motorsports Park in 3.714 seconds at nearly 327 mph. That clinched Crampton’s spot in the field, and after a little bumping in the final qualifying session, the ninth starting spot.
Crampton and his fellow Countdown spoiler, Dom Lagana, were the first pair to hit the track on Sunday morning. Crampton had an great .048 second light, but soon after the SealMaster machine hit immediate tire smoke. Lagana made a clean run to move on.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 9 (3.714 sec., 326.87 mph)
E1: Crampton defeated by Lagana – 9.662 sec., 85.00 mph to 3.727 sec., 325.69 mph
Quotable: “First round losses are tough. But big picture, we had a very constructive weekend and made some gains on the performance and reliability with this SealMaster car. I am pretty excited about Dallas.”
Kalitta Motorsports PR/Photo Gary Nastase Photography
