fingers and on Monday, I started
to prepare 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."
Sampey, who has admit-
tedly had her ups and downs this
season, was solid throughout
qualifying and eliminations in
Norwalk. She qualified num-
ber two and then rode to wins
against Ron Tornow, Matt Smith
and Bristol champ Savoie before
powering past Gladstone. Even a
stiff crosswind wasn't enough to
prevent her from making consis-
tent runs.
"The crosswind was brutal
out there," Sampey said. "In the
first round, Ron Tornow and I
got a lot closer than we should
have been, and I couldn't help
but wonder if that wasn't go-
ing to be the end of my career.
Fortunately, my crew has a way
of keeping me calm, and we
made the adjustment to the bike
that we needed to make and that
helped me get through the rest of
the race."
The significance of 46 wins
also wasn't lost on Sampey. Dave
Schultz, the late five-time NHRA
champ earned 45 wins and was
the class all-time leader before
his death in 2002. Sampey has
often longed to equal or better
that mark. Even though Andrew
Hines has since become the Pro
Stock Motorcycle leader with 58
wins.
"To get 46 wins; that was the
only goal I hadn't achieved in my
career," Sampey said. "There
was 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."
As for Gladstone, he remains
perhaps the best rider in the
class who still does not have a
victory to his credit, but based
on his performance in Norwalk,
that might not be the case much
longer. Gladstone was solid in
qualifying with the number-five
spot and had little trouble ad-
vancing to his third career final
with wins against Jimmy Under-
dahl, Karen Stoffer and Hector
Arana Jr. Loaded with talent and
a reputation for being able to ride
almost any sort of high-perfor-
mance motorcycle, Gladstone
is overdue for a win, a fact that
wasn't lost on Sampey.
"Joey is going to win one of
these and when he does, I'm
going to be very, very happy for
him," Sampey said. "Of course, I
wanted to win this race, but if for
some reason it didn't work out, I
would have been thrilled for him
and [team owner] Cory Reed.
Cory and I have a history be-
cause we were teammates, and
their day is coming."
With six races in the books,
Sampey is the championship
leader thanks to an early-round
loss by incoming leader Steve
Johnson.
The Camping World NHRA
Drag Racing Series will now take
a two week break before the start
of the grueling Western Swing
which includes back-to-back
stops in Denver, Colorado, and
Sonoma, California.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. Angelle Sampey (Suz)
2. Joey Gladstone (Suz)
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 26 JUNE 28, 2022 P29
Angelle Sampey
bounced back from
last week's loss to grab
her 46th career win at
Bristol.
PHOTO: MATT POLITO
