Sampey Wins Emotional Charlotte NHRA
I
f would be easy to forgive Vance
& Hines Suzuki's Angelle Sampey
if she was overly emotional follow-
ing her latest NHRA Pro Stock Mo-
torcycle win at the DeWalt Carolina
Nationals in Charlotte, September
17-19. A native of Southern Loui-
siana, Sampey hasn't been home
since Hurricane Ida ravaged the
area two weeks ago.
The event was an emotional one
for the entire Pro Stock Motor-
cycle fraternity after Cory Reed
was injured following a high-speed
collision with his teammate, Joey
Gladstone. Reed suffered a broken
ankle in the crash and Gladstone,
who had a crash of his own earlier
this year in testing, managed to
get back on his bike and reach the
final round. A storybook ending
would have had Gladstone winning
his first NHRA race and bringing
the trophy to his injured team-
mate, but fate intervened in the
final round. Gladstone left first and
appeared to be well on his way to
a long-overdue first win, but his kill
switch vibrated loose, and his Su-
zuki went silent, allowing Sampey
to ride to her 44th career win.
It was Sampey's first win in more
than a year but like everyone else,
her thoughts were with Reed.
"I felt very guilty, especially after
what happened with Cory," Sam-
pey said. "And I know how bad
Joey wants this. And I want to see
everybody win their first race. And
it was probably the least happy I've
IN
THE
WIND
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Angelle Sampey celebrates an emotional win at Charlotte.
