Richie Crampton's Exciting Build Process

Richie Crampton, a seasoned NHRA driver with a wealth of experience, has been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to participate in this year's Drag Week. With his team, Rod Centauri, they embarked on an ambitious project to build a custom car for the event. After eight months of hard work, their creation is finally complete and ready to hit the road.

The team took inspiration from various classic cars, including the Chevelle, which boasts a similar dragster-like appearance. The 1992 station wagon, stripped of its original body and chassis, was transformed into a sleek and powerful machine. This remarkable build showcases the team's ingenuity and dedication to creating a unique and impressive vehicle.

The car is equipped with an impressive array of high-performance components, including a Precision 60-70mm Holley Dominator EFI system, Aeromotive fuel pumps, and Sander Will's BTE. These advanced features promise to deliver exceptional performance on both the road and the race track.

Drag Week Experience

Richie Crampton's first experience with Drag Week was not without its challenges. Despite their best efforts, they encountered a few hiccups during the build process. However, Richie remained optimistic, confident that their creation would be worth the wait. As they arrived at the event, Richie expressed his excitement and enthusiasm for the opportunity to participate.

Upon checking in, Richie revealed that he had been on the waitlist for this year's Drag Week but was thrilled to finally have the chance to compete. He also shared his experience with Top Fuel racing, stating that it is an exhilarating sport that pushes drivers to their limits.

In Top Fuel, Richie has gained valuable experience and achieved impressive results, including being named the 2014 NHRA Rookie of the Year. His most successful performance in a Top Fuel car was clocking a lap time of 3.677 seconds at 329 miles per hour.

Road Test

After completing the build process, Richie and his team took their creation for a spin on the road to test its performance and handling. The vehicle's suspension, chassis, and engine were fine-tuned to optimize its potential.

During the drive, Richie shared his excitement about the car's capabilities, stating that it was "pretty cool" and that he loved watching it perform. He also acknowledged the importance of testing and fine-tuning the vehicle before making any significant changes.

Chassis Tuning

One of the key areas Richie focused on during the road test was chassis tuning. By adjusting the suspension and boost levels, they aimed to achieve optimal performance and handling.

Richie emphasized the significance of fine-tuning the car's chassis, stating that it plays a crucial role in determining its overall performance. He also mentioned that increasing the boost level can sometimes lead to problems, highlighting the importance of careful tuning.

Encountering Challenges

Despite their efforts, Richie and his team encountered some challenges during the road test. One of the issues they faced was figuring out how to use the car's electronic throttle slip (ET) system effectively. However, they were able to overcome this hurdle and achieve a respectable performance.

The team's persistence and determination paid off as they managed to complete several successful passes and fine-tune their creation for optimal performance.

Appreciation and Gratitude

As Richie reflected on his experience with Drag Week, he expressed his gratitude towards the event organizers, sponsors, and fellow competitors. He also mentioned that he was pleased with the team's efforts, stating that they had "done a good job."

Richie took the opportunity to thank various individuals and organizations for their support, including his friend Larry Dixon and the NHRA. He also shared some humorous anecdotes about the team's experiences during the event.

A Message from Richie Crampton

As Richie prepared to leave Drag Week, he offered words of encouragement to those who had followed their journey. He expressed his enthusiasm for next year's event and hinted that they would be returning with new improvements and modifications.

Richie also took a moment to express his appreciation towards those who had supported them throughout the build process, stating that it meant a great deal to him and his team. As he departed, Richie left behind a lasting impression of his dedication, passion, and expertise as a professional car builder and drag racing driver.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmr. Richie cramped in the drag-week and you've got a lot of NHRA experience I understand yeah you're gonna have a lot more here coming in the next season all right yeah absolutely yes so obviously I get to drive into a new car one of the things I've wanted to do for so long is horror magazine Drag Week so given the circumstances in the earlier part of this year myself and rod Centauri got to work and we build this thing in the past eight months it's been it's been a big project and I definitely wish we were a little better prepared but nonetheless we're gonna make a run here today and try and get on the road to st. Louis tomorrow and try and just enjoy drag wait man this was you know we wanted to do Drag Week we thought a station wagon would be a good idea to carry all your stuff of course worth the amount of tube work and we'll chop seen that thing we kind of consumed a lot of that station wagon area in this this thing popped up on Craigslist so we we stripped the body off of the you know the old floor pan and dropped it over a full tube chromoly chassis I love it I saw it in the pits yesterday and I didn't see the drag-week being around I got disappointed and then we were leaving yesterday I saw it in the in the lanes you're getting checked in so yeah I was on the wait list but yeah you know we go to Ron and I guess I took a page out of the Chevelle guys book you know it kind of look like you drag it out of the paddock and trying to race it we love that Colonel stuff too this was a 92 wagon so I wish I can carry nine people you can probably fill with between the top precision 60 a 70 millimeters full Holley Dominator EFI system which is just been awesome Aeromotive fuel pumps sander wills BTE I hear a rumor you're not gonna be with us all week yeah I've got a good problem if there is such a thing I need to be in Charlotte this weekend we're happy to have you here yeah I'm just stuck - even if I - got to do a day of I beat the happiest guy around but we got to try and do as much as we can before we set sail back for Indianapolis and bloody Charlotte to get back into Top Fuel car and what's what's your history on Top Fuel how long have you been racing top field first so I started in 2014 in Top Fuel I was the 2014 NHRA Rookie of the Year I want to eat in 14 as a rookie which I think my buddy Larry Dixon who's racing drag leak as well he and I are about to 200 rupees to win Indy what's your quick response in Top Fuel biggest round in Top Fuel is three point six seven seconds 329 miles an hour that's crazy yeah but tell you what get in a door car like this with suspension this thing gets my attention to that's all fine it's actually pretty cool to go down the road and so hopefully everything hangs together and we'll be looking good perfect we'll enjoy the week thanks we'll see you next year all right getting up the addiction I got tons of room under here is this prettier Street trim adjustable so you break something straight trim nice heavier Springs to carry the way raising the ride to make it shorter to bring your tire still boost creeping pretty this having this is the higher boost yeah it's the more we raise the boost the more it shows a problem so we're just gonna see what we can do cool good luck on the road thank you that's a weird place for the filters Wow 820 huh we could try and make it run just a little better than that but I think we're just gonna turn in that et slip and do today that's a good pass yeah the booze creep figured out or six pieces are great you know it's got to figure out how to use it on the whole pass I look good it looks too easy like this chassis on here you go away faster you can film it's got plenty of chassis plenty of tire over this good yeah it's going to the left just a little bit so two more fine-tuning I mean that's the seventh attempt at Iran I didn't three or four times now at the most we're still working on it cool the drive yesterday we go that was that was more falling racing good group of guys Larry Dixon and Roll Hall power wheel worked in the NHRA together using years ago so great group of guys we're tacking on Tom Bailey and you know pretty cool there's a late night but lots of fun conversation against 300 mile an hour clubbers the everything on a thousand mile road trip together loveth cool good luck on the road yeah 8:20 in the books Japan another nice clean Ron yeah so pretty happy with the way the old girl has ran on the road and add the race track so I could finish off the week but yeah gotta get out of here pick up the trailer from Cordova and head back to you need a flight to Charlotte drive this thing to go pick up your trailer then fly to go race a little bit faster yeah good style I couldn't help but notice that you got you in Dixon we're pitted across from the night road car are you guys here taking notes for next year gonna bring something every year I think I've seen it all and then you see a nitro-burning you've been bitten by the bugging of you back next year I'm pretty sure I'll be back next year runway yeah hopefully I can finish the whole week next week cool thanks for coming oh one last thing some awesome offseason me some presents and I don't need this you can have that come on you\n"