Richie Crampton and the DHL Top Fuel dragster team are looking at the Sonoma NHRA Nationals as a chance to jump start their final push of the regular season. Last weekend at the Mile High NHRA Nationals the No. 8 qualifier took out Austin Prock in the first round and then missed an opportunity to defeat the current Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence in the second round. The quarterfinal loss was tough one for the young Australian but only added fuel to a burning desire to stack up more wins this season.
“We definitely missed a great opportunity in the second round,” said Crampton. “That one hurt but I am putting it behind me and focusing on Sonoma. You have to have a short memory out here. On Friday we will be back at it and what happened in Denver is the past. I am looking at racing hard and smart in Sonoma.”
There are four races left in the regular season and Crampton is looking to make the most out of each event. He has a solid position in the Mello Yello top ten but round wins will secure a chance to race for the NHRA Top Fuel championship which is the goal of Crampton and the DHL team.
“We’re trying not to pay too much attention to the points, but you still always have an eye it and we made some gains this weekend,” said Crampton at the end of the day in Denver. “We ran well in round one to beat Austin Prock. Then we had a great shot to beat Steve Torrence in the second round and we didn’t take advantage of it. That’s a race we have to win, but we can’t do anything about it now. We just need to get ready to run Sonoma.”
Crampton has appeared in one final round at the Sonoma NHRA Nationals losing to current teammate J.R. Todd in the 2016 Top Fuel final. That was the best outing for Crampton at the historic track.
“We had a great race car in 2016 and J.R. took us out. I love having him as a teammate. Every one of my Kalitta teammates has Top Fuel experience and they all have a lot of success on top of that experience. That gives me a lot of confidence knowing I can talk to them and get some additional insight. This DHL team has a lot of talent and I am looking forward to getting to Sonoma and making so great passes.”
2018 Sonoma NHRA Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 12; Lost to Brittany Force
Last Event Recap (2019 Mile High NHRA Nationals): Qual. No. 8; Beat Austin Prock; Lost to Steve Torrence
Quotable: Crampton on heading to Sonoma: “Kalitta Motorsports has a lot of success at Sonoma. I am looking to give it my best and see if we can park this DHL Top Fuel dragster in the winner’s circle on Sunday.”
Career Stats: 117 events, 116 starts, 98 round wins, 9 wins, 11 finals, 5 No. 1 qualifiers
2019 Season:
Winternationals: Qual. No. 6; Lost to Terry McMillen
Arizona Nationals: Qual. No. 15; Lost to Terry McMillen
Gatornationals: Qual. No. 12; WINNER, Beat Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, TJ Zizzo and Clay Millican
Las Vegas1: Qual. No. 6; Beat Scott Palmer, Cameron Ferre; Lost to Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force
Houston: Qual. No. 13; Lost to Clay Millican
Charlotte1: Qual. No. 12; Lost to Doug Kalitta and Leah Pritchett
Atlanta: Qual. No. 7; Lost to Scott Palmer
Richmond: Qual. No. 7; Lost to Austin Prock
Chicago: Qual. No. 11; Beat Austin Prock; Lost to Steve Torrence
Topeka: Qual. No. 7; Beat Terry McMillen; Lost to Billy Torrence
Bristol: Qual. No. 9; Lost to Terry McMillen
Norwalk: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Billy Torrence
Epping: Qual. No. 2; Beat Audrey Worm, bye; Lost to Steve Torrence
Denver: Qual. No. 8; Beat Austin Prock; Lost to Steve Torrence
Kalitta Motorsports PR
