Expat Aussie racer and chassis-building guru Richie Crampton has won the prestigious US Nationals in Top Alcohol Dragster at Indianapolis Raceway Park, 12 years after he won the same event in Top Fuel. And in the very-same chassis! Crampton defeated Randy Meyer Racing’s TJ Tindle in the final, with a 0.032 to 0.074 holeshot and a 5.255-sec best ET.

Crampton is the most-sucessful international driver in the professional ranks in NHRA history. His Top Fuel career saw him take out the US Nationals for Morgan Lucas Racing in his rookie year in 2014 and followed that up by winning five races the next year and finished third in the Top Fuel Championship.

In all, Crampton racked up 10 national event wins before he finished his time at a Top Fuel driver with Kalitta Motorsports in 2019.

Crampton has been largely absent from the driver’s seat since he was injured as a passenger in a road accident in his ‘Shitbox of Doom’ ’57 Chev wagon in 2020.

Crampton’s comeback to NHRA competition occured earlier this year in Norwalk, Ohio at the Summit Racing NHRA Nationals – as part of the Samsel Racing team alongside fellow Aussie, Jamie Noonan. And yep, Crampton’s dragster is the very same chassis that won him that first Nationals in 2014! The win was especially sweet for the Samsel team, who have been trying for a Nationals win for 35 years.

Noonan is leading the NHRA Top Alcohol Championship and is aiming to became only the second Aussie to win an NRHA National Championship after Steve Harker in Top Alcohol Funny Car.