At the beginning of her Top Alcohol endeavor, Angelle Sampey equated making a run in the four-wheeled dragster with being strapped into a “torture device.”
“I hated it. I did not want to drive a car — that was Antron Brown’s idea,” Sampey stated firmly. “It was killing my nerves.”
In mid-August, the three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion made her first runs in an A/Fuel dragster after some coaxing from Top Fuel racer Brown, who took Sampey under his wing once she joined his AB Motorsports Accelerate driver-development program.
But Sampey’s initial feeling of apprehension didn’t last long. By her third test session at Minnesota’s Brainerd Int’l Raceway, she was quickly becoming a convert.
She completed five tests under Brown’s guidance and earned her A/Fuel license on Aug. 23 before making her Top Alcohol debut at the Texas NHRA FallNationals in October. Her debut weekend at Texas Motorplex may have started out less-than-ideal, but by the end of it, Sampey was enthralled with her new career path.
“We were struggling to qualify and qualified No. 16,” Sampey recalled. “You know, at that point the nerves were finally gone and I was really enjoying the car. So to me, it was just, ‘I’m happy to be here, to be in the first round.’”
Though she claims she had no expectation of winning a round in her debut, the 46-time NHRA national event winner couldn’t refrain from giving it her all. Sampey defeated No. 1 qualifier Mike Coughlin in the first round.
“We felt like we won the whole race,” Sampey said, chuckling. “In second round, I had Tony Stewart. I figured again, ‘I’m just happy to be here. I get to drive the car one more time.’ And we ended up winning that round too.”
Unfortunately, that was as far as her Mission Foods dragster carried her, and the 52-year-old was defeated by Kirk Wolf in the semifinals.
Nonetheless, Sampey was more than content with her first four-wheel performance.
“I feel like I did a lot better than I thought I would to start my career in cars,” Sampey admitted. “There’s just so much more to it than people know. I had no idea how much was involved, from the burnout to the staging beams.”
Staging was the most difficult adjustment for Sampey, who has become accustomed to maneuvering a motorcycle and not a “big giant car” in the narrow lanes.
Though she understands there will be more to learn — especially when it comes time to advance to Top Fuel and join Brown on his AB Motorsports team — Sampey is taking it one step at a time for now.
“I’m kind of bitter with myself because I wish I would have done this years ago,” Sampey said. “I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long. I’m a motorcycle person, I’m obsessed with motorcycles and I didn’t think I was going to enjoy four wheels. But I love it, I love it, I love it. I can’t wait to get back in the car next year.”
Sampey will run a full season in the Mission Foods A/Fuel dragster in 2024, including a slate of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series national events and Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional races.