Strangely enough, if Angelle Sampey is uncomfortable on her bike and seems a little rattled, she is probably going to surprise you with a win.
Last week In Bristol, Sampey fouled in the final against Jerry Savoie delaying win 46 for another week. Sampey redeemed herself quickly as she picked up cthe victory following a solid 6.861 to 6.928 win against Joey Gladstone.
Sampey, who has admittedly had her ups and downs this season, was solid throughout qualifying and eliminations in Norwalk. She qualified No. 2 and then rode to wins against Ron Tornow, Matt Smith, and Bristol winner Savoie before powering past Gladstone.
“You don’t know the internal battle that I was going through since last week,” Sampey said. “This was huge after the final in Bristol. I threw it away. I gave it to Jerry. It slipped through fingers and on Monday I prepared for this race.
“By Friday, I dug deep within myself. Twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have had to do what I did mentally, but I’ve found that the biggest competitor these days is myself.
“To get 46 wins; that was the only goal I hadn’t achieved in my career. There weas a time when I wanted to be the winningest rider in the class but Andrew Hines has put that goal pretty much out of reach. Dave was the GOAT. To pass him after 25 years of trying is pretty special.”
For the last few seasons, the best word to describe Joey Gladstone is “overdue”. Loaded with talent and a reputation for being able to ride almost any sort of high performance motorcycle, Gladstone nearly delivered when he rode his Reed Motorsports Suzuki to his third career final round.
Angelle dealt with her internal demons for most of the weekend battling some wind and not having her desired comfort on the bike. When she felt similarly in Bristol in 2021, she also rode to the victory.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series action will continue at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals, July 15-17 in Denver.
See the recap from Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor:
See the Sunday photo gallery from NHRA National Dragster staff:
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