NHRA’s Top Alcohol Dragster category within the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series was quite the draw last year with three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart beginning his full-season driving career in straight-line racing, even as he had two cars for his Tony Stewart Racing team in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively for the [now] Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series. Stewart came close to earning a title in his first full season of drag racing and his Funny Car squad elevated Matt Hagan to a fourth championship in that tough class.
Even though Stewart won’t be in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, a three-time NHRA champion is coming to the water box to earn a title on four wheels. Angel Sampey, a racer who’s never said no to a good challenge, is working with former Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate and current owner of AB Motorsports, Antron Brown, as she segues from two wheels to four in this very tough Lucas Oil class.
Sampey was hesitant to try racing a quarter-mile on four wheels at the onset, but with several laps to her credit, the Louisiana star is looking in the mirror and asking herself why she didn’t try Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD) and nitro-fueled racing before now.
With 46 NHRA National event victories to her credit on two wheels in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Sampey is ready to take on the challenge of racing TAD. She’ll have mentorship from Antron Brown and his ABM Accelerate program, plus the advantage of working with Michalek Brothers Racing (MBR), one of the top teams in this class.
She intends to compete at a majority of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events, as well as a limited number of Lucas Oil Series events, in an MBR-prepared A/Fuel dragster. Her supporters include Hangsterfer’s Metal Work Lubricants, Factory Motor Parts and the FVP brand, Mission Foods, together with Lucas Oil.
“I had such an amazing experience last year with both the Michalek Brothers and Samsel Racing,” as she learned how to stage and run a dragster, “and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to continue to race in an A/Fuel dragster in 2024,” Sampey explained.
“I’m not going to lie: I was very nervous strapping into the dragster at Ennis (Texas Motorplex, site of the fourth playoff round in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship) last fall, but Corey and Kyle were tremendous mentors and kept me calm and and taught me so much in a very short amount of time. I really do have to thank both the Michalek and Samsel teams for making me look more polished than I was!”
Driving the Michalek Brothers Racing A/Fuel dragster in Texas, with support from Mission Foods, Angel Sampey advanced to the semifinals in her debut. She then drove the Samsel Racing dragster at two added events: on the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, where she earned a No. 1 qualifier and runner-up result.
Sampey will be making her 2024 debut near her Mathews, Louisiana home at No Problem Raceway, Belle Rose, LA the weekend of Feb. 22-25. “I know I’ll have some butterflies in the tummy when we pull to the line for the first pass, but not nearly as many rumbling around as I did last summer,” she joked.
“These will mainly come from racing in front of so many friends and family members in Louisiana. I live less than 50 miles from the track in Belle Rose, so it will be wonderful to kick off 2024 at home. I’m super pumped to continue to be able to race and represent Mission Foods – and help promote the #2Fast2Tasty program. The racers love it and I hope to be able to compete in it in Top Fuel one day,” she predicted.
Following this NHRA Lucas Oil Series Division 3 competition, Sampey returns to race at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 55th annual Gatornationals season opener, March 7-10 at historic Gainesville Raceway in Florida. She also continues her role as ambassador for Mission Foods, supporting the Mission #2Fast2Tasty program at 14 NHRA national events this year. Her on-track schedule includes up to ten NHRA national events and four Lucas Oil divisional races, in order to secure sufficient points to race for the 2024 Lucas Oil Series TAD championship.
Her mentor and teammate, AB Motorsports team owner Antron Brown noted, “This was a no-brainer to continue this program with Angelle, and we couldn’t have partnered with a better group than Corey, Kyle and the entire Michalek team. Angelle is super popular in our sport. She has a great following on social media and sees a tremendous amount of fan engagement on hr social platforms,” he acknowledged. “The fans adore her. Getting her back on track was very important, and we’re proud to have accomplished that. Now we need to get her back in the winner’s circle and help her make another championship run – this time on four wheels – with the ultimate goal of her being our ABM teammate in a Top Fuel dragster one day in the future.”
The MBR team, based near Columbus, Ohio, has earned two NHRA national event titles (Charlotte 1 in 2022 and 2014), with Corey Michalek behind the wheel and Kyle leading the team. They’ve also secured four final round appearances, together with earning the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Top Alcohol Funny Car championships as crew members for Mark Thomas, in 2006 and 2007.
“When we met with Antron at the PRI Show in Indy last month, he shared his vision for Angelle’s continued growth in the A/Fuel class, with the ultimate goal being to graduate her into Top Fuel,” Corey Michalek said. “We didn’t have to think very long to say ‘yes’ because our aspirations are to one day follow that same path. AB is not only a household name in motorsports, but a great representative for the sport of drag racing. Angelle is such an asset to the sport. To work with both of them is a tremendous opportunity for Kyle, myself and our entire team.”
By Anne Proffit
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