The Adelaide-born Richie Crampton has shocked the drag racing world by landing one of the most coveted jobs in pro drag racing in the United States.
Leading US driver Morgan Lucas has selected Crampton to replace him in the GEICO/Lucas Oil Productions Top Fuel dragster for next year.
After moving Stateside nine years ago Crampton has been crewing for the Indianapolis-based Morgan team since 2007.
“This is certainly a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself that all those years of hard work in chasing my dream has begun to pay off,” Crampton said.
“I can’t thank Lucas enough for the opportunity, I feel like the luckiest bloke in the world right now.
“In this day and age, it’s not very often you have crew guys getting a chance to move up and drive the race car. I’m honored that Morgan and (team crew chief) Aaron Brooks think enough of me to give me this chance,” he said.
Crampton, 33, raced go-karts as a young bloke before drag racing grabbed his attention as a 16-year-old.
He recently earned his Top Fuel competition license following a test at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis when he record a 3.85s pass and topped 505km/h.
