Goodyear, NHRA at Topeka

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Crampton takes Top Fuel win at Kansas Nationals

      TOPEKA, Kan. (May 26, 2015) – Richie Crampton won the Top Fuel final to highlight the list of five Goodyear-equipped drivers to win a category during the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.      Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Erica Enders-Stevens (Pro Stock), Joey Severance (Top Alcohol Dragster) and Lou Ficco Jr. (Competition Eliminator) also won on Goodyear Eagles. Beckman and Enders-Stevens race in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for professional teams. Severance and Ficco race in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for sportsman teams.      Rain soaked the event at times. Some of the sportsman eliminations had to be completed on Monday.      Crampton defeated former Top Fuel champ Larry Dixon in the final round. Crampton’s victory was his fourth in four final round appearances. Antron Brown leads the Top Fuel standings with 567 points. Tony Schumacher is next with 514.      Beckman edged John Force in the Funny Car final. Beckman’s margin of victory was just .0223 of a second, roughly 11 feet. It was Beckman’s 17th Funny Car win. Ron Capps leads the standings with 523 points and Matt Hagan is next with 502.      Enders-Stevens, the defending Pro Stock champion, collected her third win of 2015 and the 15th of her historic career when she beat Greg Anderson in a close race. Jason Line leads Pro Stock with 624 points, the most points among professional drivers in the NHRA. Enders-Stevens is next with 592.      Severance’s victory was his eighth in national event competition.      Ficco’s win came largely on the strength of his .021-second reaction time at the start. It was his second national event win.      Goodyear employs about 69,000 people at manufacturing plants and facilities in 22 nations. Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear is among the largest tiremakers in the world and is the worldwide leader in race tire innovation.