Angelle Sampey has spent three years working toward the day she could officially call herself a licensed NHRA Top Fuel driver. Monday afternoon in Las Vegas, she got there with a 3.688-second pass at 337.66 mph, a run worthy of a top-half qualifying position in any of today’s current races. .
Now comes the part that could be harder than driving an 11,000-horsepower dragster. Finding the right marketing partner to benefit from a championship caliber driver with a strong fan following.
The three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion completed her licensing requirements at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the Matco Tools Eagle Experience dragster fielded by Antron Brown’s AB Motorsports operation. The run was quick enough to demonstrate that Sampey could handle competitive Top Fuel performance, but it didn’t come with a guaranteed ride for 2027.
“Not only did we get my Top Fuel license today, but we did it in fashion – a 3.68 at 337.66 mph,” Sampey said. “What we did today is insane – there are no words to describe what Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers experience every run.”
For Sampey, the accomplishment was the payoff for a career change that began in 2023 when Brown brought her into his Accelerate program. Rather than put her directly into a nitro dragster, Brown started her in a Top Alcohol Dragster running an injected nitromethane combination, giving her an opportunity to learn a different kind of race car.
She made her Top Alcohol Dragster debut at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals that season and reached the semifinals. What followed was three years of learning how to drive a dragster after building a Hall of Fame career racing motorcycles. She currently drives the Michalek Brothers A/Fuel Dragster.
Sampey got her first taste of Brown’s Top Fuel dragster at Las Vegas a year ago. On Monday, she returned to finish what she started, with Brian Corradi, Brad Mason, John Medlen and the rest of the AB Motorsports crew helping her earn the license.
“I am so thankful that Antron put me in the A-Fuel car for three years because even after three years, I’m not sure if I was ready for the feeling,” Sampey said. “I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future, but I am so excited that I am now a licensed Top Fuel driver with AB Motorsports.”
Brown has been patient with Sampey’s transition, understanding that three world championships on two wheels don’t automatically prepare someone for the acceleration, workload and demands of a Top Fuel dragster. He wanted her to learn the process rather than rush through it to collect a license.
“It was so fun watching Angelle get her license today,” Brown said. “She slowed down to understand what was going on and really learn the process. She ran a competitive E.T. today. Now our focus turns to funding for 2027.”
Three Pro Stock Motorcycle championships got Sampey into the record books, and she’s headed into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America next year. None of that has gotten her a funded Top Fuel ride, though, and Brown is still looking for somebody to back the deal.
“I am very thankful to the entire AB Motorsports team for giving me the opportunity to get behind the wheel of this Top Fuel dragster and earn my license,” Sampey said.
