Angelle Sampey was fresh off a near-perfect test session with her brand new Star Racing Buell NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle entering the 47th annual AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.   The three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion posted her career-best ET on the new bike in only the second pass of testing.  As they arrived at Gainesville Raceway, the Star Racing team showed plenty of confidence in the new program.    But mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey meant the team had plenty of hard work on their hands for the duration of the weekend.   She made the field, but would not have the season opening event she had hoped for, exiting early in the first round of eliminations.

Mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey plague qualifying

The very first session, Angelle would launch hard, but something went amiss on the bike, and by half track she was coasting to an 8.629 at 98.03 mph effort.   Star Racing team owner, George Bryce, took it back to the pits and discovered that the engine had expired in 4th gear.   That left them swapping engines between rounds.

Round two, Angelle was able to get it down the track, and jumped up the ladder with a 6.854 second E.T. at 192.44 mph.   It was good enough to get her the provisional No. 4 position, but the back-up engine also had issues at the lights.

Angelle made it to high gear before we tossed a pushrod out,” said Bryce after the run. “Still went 6.85, we where down 5 MPH, as she coasted through.”

This meant engine number three for Angelle, and the Star Racing team was back to work in the pits, preparing for the third round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon.   Sampey, who had maintained the provisional No. 4 qualifying position entering the third round, would complete her burnout and begin to stage when the starter spotted fluid coming from the bike – an oil leak, and shut her down.

After taking care of the oil leak, Angelle and her Star team would have one last qualifying attempt to try and gain some data on the track and the swap to back up engine #3.   Sitting at the back of staging awaiting her final qualifying pass, a few in front of her would bump her down the ladder a few spots.    She would take the line in the No. 7 position, and would get down the track with a 6.847 at 195.70 mph pass, enough to push her up to the No. 5 final qualifying position.    The pass was the third-quickest run of the round, giving her 1 additional bonus qualifying point.

Seeing Red in Eliminations

With a secure spot in the top half of the eliminations ladder, Sampey would face No. 12 Jim Underdahl in the opening round on Sunday.   She had lane choice, and entered the round calm and confident on the bike.   But unfortunately, the dreaded red light came on for Angelle by just -0.002 thousandths of a second, handing the win to Underdahl.  She would post a 6.956-second pass at 197.19 mph.

The bike bogged at the launch,” said Sampey. “I have to tell you, I don’t know what else I could’ve done differently. I did everything like I usually do and I can’t believe it went red. After I launched, it bogged so bad it almost died. We’re thinking that contributed to why it went red.”

An early exit was a big disappointment to Angelle and the PSE/Star Racing team, but Sampey knows the team made a lot of progress, although they did not experience the successes they were hoping for.

George Bryce confirmed that the red light was due more to mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey and not driver error.

“We got beat and outrun,” said Bryce of the first round loss.   “I missed the clutch tune up, the clutch did not slip at all.  A Pro Stock motorcycle must have clutch slip at the launch.   When Angelle popped the clutch the bike just reacted too quick AND the engine bogged 2800 RPM. I try to get it to 600 to 700 rpm bog.  Of course all of that “helped” her go -.002 red light.   She was very calm and confident and the starting line, 1st round but, when the engine almost choked off, it took so long to recover.  The time for the quarter mile took too long, 6.95 instead of the time it should have run.   Good news is she still ran over 197 MPH on that bogging run.”

Sampey didn’t let it keep her down long though.  She knows that they are working out some early issues and is ready to get to the next event to pick back up and show the field what they are truly capable of doing in the class.

“I feel I was lucky to be No. 5 with all the trouble we had with the engines in qualifying.   It’s the first race of the season and I’m riding a brand new motorcycle. It’s the first race back with two bikes and we’re trying to learn. It was a productive weekend even though it wasn’t a successful weekend by our standards.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors watch out, Angelle and the Star Racing team is coming for them.   The next race for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class will be the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina April 22-24, 2016.

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran and the winningest female in all of motorsports, Angelle Sampey is fresh off a successful test session and ready for the 47th Annual Amalie Motor Oils Gatornationals.

The Gatornationals marks the season opener, and first of 16 events for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.   Angelle Sampey is no stranger to the Gainesville, Florida racetrack, having made her way to the finals four times in her career, taking the event win in 1999, 2003, and 2006.  The 3x time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion returned from retirement briefly in 2014, before returning full-time in 2015 after her recovery from a pit-related accident in 2014 ended her return prematurely.

I’m very very excited,” said Sampey. “I can’t wait to get back on. I’m nervous but not a worried nervous. It’s more of an excited and anxious nervous.”

For 2016, Angelle and teammate Cory Reed will debut new Precision Service Equipment/Star Racing Buells for competition.   After not feeling 100% comfortable with her bike last season, the new bike was custom fitted to her, and the Star Racing team has worked hard during the off-season to prepare for a championship run in 2016.

The Americus, Georgia based Star Racing team took the new bikes to South Georgia Motorsports Park for some test passes.

I’ve been training hard and I’ve got a brand new motorcycle. I haven’t had a brand new motorcycle in a long time and they build this bike to fit me and nobody else.”

After a brief introduction by Star Racing owner, George Bryce, to her brand new motorcycle, Angelle was pleased and wasted no time in getting down to business putting the new bike through the paces.   The veteran champ showed confidence on the motorcycle pulling into the waterbox, through the first burnout and in staging.   The very first pass down the racetrack, Angelle posted a 6.86 second, followed by a career-best 6.826 @ 197.57 mph in just the second ever pass on the brand new motorcycle.   The Star Racing team and Angelle Sampey are ready for the Gatornationals!

Angelle Sampey |  Career-Best ET in Gatornational Testing  [VIDEO]

Star Racing and three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Angelle Sampey just announced a crowd funding fan sponsorship campaign called Join Team Angelle designed to provide fans with unique opportunities to get closer to the action and the inner workings of the drag racing team. Today at the 35th Annual Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals, Star Racing team owner George Bryce and Angelle Sampey-Drago, the winningest female motorsport athlete in history held a press conference at the Atlanta Dragway to share the details of the new campaign.

Join Team Angelle

The team announced that through a new website JoinTeamAngelle.com, visitors will have access to latest news and behind-the-scenes perspectives from Sampey and Bryce, through team blogs, YouTube videos and social media posts from the track, the shop and testing grounds.    JoinTeamAngelle.com also allows fans a chance to get involved in the action, with details on sponsorship opportunities that have been designed to deliver enhanced access to the team and one-of-a-kind collectables from Team Angelle and Star Racing.

When I was asked to return to the NHRA circuit last year by George and Jackie Bryce of Star Racing, the overpowering pull that ultimately brought me back to the track was my connection with our fans. At Star Racing, we believe that the time has arrived to change the dynamics involved with funding a race team. Through this campaign, we are striving to provide our fans with opportunities to enjoy unmatched experiences,” said Sampey.

One of the crowd favorites, Angelle regularly interacts with fans online and at the track between rounds, sharing information about her life on the road, her family and other interesting aspects of her colorful personality.   Faced with an uncertain future in funding of her program, she was bombarded by fans who wanted the opportunity to help.

Over my more than 40 years in racing, I’ve lost count of how many fans I’ve met who have a deep love for our sport and also have the desire to get as close as they possibly can to it. The passion people have for our sport and the support our fans continually provide for our Star Racing Team continues to amaze me,” said Bryce. “Those fans who become members of Team Angelle will have access to unique experiences that promise to bring fans closer to our team in a significant way.”

From a $100 Join Team Angelle membership to event sponsorships of $7,500 and above,  the crowd funding program offers a range of options which seek to provide fans with memorable benefits. The team has structured its sponsorship levels to place experiences within reach of fans and it has also designed the upper-level sponsorships packages with smaller and mid-sized businesses in mind.

Through the success of this campaign, we believe that we will consistently race to the Winner’s Circle and we will be in the hunt for the Championship this season,” said Sampey. “We also believe the time has arrived to give fans the opportunity to see the inner workings of a NHRA team. The packages we are offering to our fans as memberships have been designed to provide unique experiences that will take our fans behind the ropes of our race operation.”

There is no doubt that Angelle has what it takes to return to the winner’s circle and capture the winningest driver in the class, a feat she trails by 4 wins.    She has already overcome a season-ending injury late last year, powering through rehabilitation and training to return to the bike in time for the season opening Pro Stock bike race.   Since her return from retirement, there has been a different vibe surrounding her team.  The vibe is a more personal feeling, a closer connection to fans that may be attributed to the old adage, “absence only makes the heart grow fonder”.     Her long awaited homecoming has been a treasure appreciated on both sides.

I’ve been in winner’s circle and held the championship trophy many times in my career, but our success this year promises to be the sweetest one of all. This year, we will have a special opportunity to share our victories in the most meaningful of ways with our fans,” said Bryce.

Watch Angelle and George’s Announcement

For more information on the fan sponsorship campaign, visit JoinTeamAngelle.com.