Angelle Sampey’s bid for her first Texas Motorplex victory ended in the opening round of Top Alcohol Dragster eliminations Sunday at the Texas NHRA FallNationals.
The three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion made her Top Alcohol Dragster debut at the Motorplex in 2023 through Antron Brown’s AB Motorsports Accelerate Program, reaching the semifinals. This weekend, she was hoping to go the “full mile” and secure not only her first win at the Texas Motorplex but also an NHRA 75th Diamond Wally.
Sampey opened qualifying with a 5.511-second pass at 265.60 mph, landing 13th. She improved to a 5.296 at 271.39 mph in the second session and moved up to 11th. Her final qualifying pass was a 5.322 at 270.64 mph, leaving her 13th for race day.
In the first round, Sampey had the starting-line advantage against Nick Spiegel but drifted out of the groove. Her parachutes deployed and collected the half-track blocks, slowing her to a 7.531 at 78.22 mph. Spiegel advanced with a 5.199 at 278.29 mph.
“It’s really disappointing and frustrating because we all want it so bad,” Sampey said. “We’ve been struggling with our clutch. There are some funky things going on in there that we’re going to get figured out.”
Sampey said changing track conditions have made the clutch combination difficult to dial in. Although the team had a run in good conditions, the car shook the tires when they hooked up on the track.
“I’m going to keep my head up high and keep enjoying myself,” she said. “To me, these days, that’s the biggest goal for me – just to keep having fun. I am having a blast.”
Sampey will return to competition Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
