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<\/p>\nImagine being one of the best to ever do what you do. Not just the best now, but in its history.<\/p>\n
And then imagine hating it.<\/p>\n
With three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championships and more than 40 Nationals wins, Angelle Sampey could\u2019ve called it a career as a sure-shot hall of famer. But what then?<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just hating life,\u201d she said. \u201cI was hating drag racing and didn\u2019t want to give up because I didn\u2019t know how to. And when I was forced to, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Sampey, her latest chapter\u2014behind the wheel of a Top Alcohol Dragster\u2014was one she almost didn\u2019t write.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really didn\u2019t want to do it,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cI had no experience in a dragster. My passion had always been bikes. I was done. Or so I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
But someone knew better: Antron Brown.<\/p>\n
Sampey and Brown aren\u2019t just old teammates\u2014they\u2019re motorsports soulmates. They met in 1997, when Brown came through Frank Hawley\u2019s Drag Racing School. Sampey, already a star, helped train him. From there, they spent years as friendly rivals on the track and true friends off it. That friendship blossomed into something deeper when Brown offered her the chance to drive an A\/Fuel dragster as part of the AB Motorsports and Michalek Brothers Racing effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have done it for anyone else,\u201d Sampey said. \u201cBut I trust Antron with my life. If he said I could do this, I believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That trust has paid off in high-octane dividends. After taking the wheel, Sampey didn\u2019t just survive\u2014she thrived. She made the finals at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and followed that with her first Top Alcohol win not long after. With Brown mentoring her every step of the way, her reaction times sharpened, her confidence soared, and that fire that had dimmed during the twilight of her motorcycle career was reignited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gives me exactly what I need mentally,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no pressure. Just support, laughter, and trust. He\u2019s like a happy pill. You can\u2019t be around him and be in a bad mood.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as fast as her transition to the driver\u2019s seat has been, it hasn\u2019t come without new challenges\u2014like adjusting to racing in a canopy dragster. Enclosed cockpits are still a rarity in the Top Alcohol ranks, and Sampey admits she was a little skeptical at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing from being completely exposed on a Pro Stock bike to being locked in a cockpit with a canopy? That was a big shift,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her first run with the canopy brought back familiar instincts\u2014and one major oversight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Kyle [Michalek] closed the canopy down before my burnout, it felt exactly like dropping my visor on the bike. The world just disappeared,\u201d she said. \u201cSo when I pulled up to stage, I didn\u2019t put my visor down. I didn\u2019t even think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team noticed. Crew chief Corey Michalek caught it on the in-car cam and sent the clip to Antron. \u201cHe showed it to me and said, \u2018What were you thinking?\u2019\u201d Sampey laughed. \u201cI was so locked in, I thought I\u2019d already done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite that hiccup, the canopy has been a revelation for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like tunnel vision,\u201d she said. \u201cYou hear everything better. You feel everything better. You\u2019re more in tune with the car. I love it. I\u2019m hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of the reason for the switch to the canopy-equipped dragster is strategic\u2014it\u2019s a former backup Top Fuel car from Antron\u2019s team. If and when Sampey makes the jump to Top Fuel, the transition will be seamless.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s identical to the Top Fuel car, just without the supercharger,\u201d she explained. \u201cSame controls. Same feel. So when I do make that leap, I won\u2019t have to adjust\u2014I\u2019ll already know how to drive it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That leap is the dream, but Sampey\u2019s not rushing it. With support from sponsors like Hangsterfer\u2019s Metalworking Lubricants and the continued guidance of Antron and the Michalek brothers, she\u2019s soaking in every moment of her second racing life.<\/p>\n
It helps that she\u2019s got another late-bloomer on the scene in 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year and Top Fuel pilot Tony Stewart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed seeing Tony succeed,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s a natural. Doesn\u2019t matter what you put him in, he\u2019s going to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two struck up a friendship during Sampey\u2019s first test in the dragster at Brainerd, where Stewart offered calming words and racing advice. Since then, she\u2019s leaned on him, Jasmine Salinas, and legends like Jack Beckman to prepare for the leap to Top Fuel.<\/p>\n
But make no mistake: Antron is her rock.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe help each other. When I lost my ride back in the day, Antron offered me his second bike. That led to our Army sponsorship and eventually Don Schumacher Racing. He saved my career back then, and now he\u2019s helped me start a new one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Their bond is more than professional. A magazine writer once called them \u201csoulmates,\u201d and Sampey didn\u2019t argue.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I didn\u2019t get it,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I looked it up, and yeah\u2014your best friend can absolutely be your soulmate. That\u2019s what Antron is. I can\u2019t imagine doing this without him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, as she continues chasing new goals\u2014like a championship in Top Alcohol and possibly a Top Fuel license\u2014Sampey\u2019s not only at peace with her legacy, she\u2019s actively rewriting it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happier than I\u2019ve ever been in my career,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t feel my age. I\u2019m in the gym every day. I\u2019m learning about the business side. I\u2019ve got the best team, the best mentor, and the best friends around me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether she ends up gunning for 330 mph in a Top Fuel car or continues carving out wins in Top Alcohol, Angelle Sampey\u2019s return to joy is the real victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done almost everything I ever wanted to do,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, I\u2019m adding new goals to the list. And if tomorrow was the end, yeah\u2014I\u2019d be OK. But let\u2019s hope it\u2019s not tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because for the first time in a long time, Angelle Sampey isn\u2019t hanging on.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s charging forward\u2014with Antron Brown by her side, the canopy sealed tight, and nothing but open track ahead.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published on August 20, 2025. <\/p>\n
The post Angelle 2.0: Angelle Sampey Talks Top Alcohol Dragster Transition<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Imagine being one of the best to ever do what you do. Not just the best now, but in its history. And then imagine hating it. With three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championships and more than 40 Nationals wins, Angelle Sampey could\u2019ve called it a career as a sure-shot hall of famer. But what then? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}