Motorsport News

Vance & Hines/Mission Suzuki Team Wraps 2022 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Season with Top Qualifying Spot in Pomona

Suzuki NHRA Press Release (678)

Angelle Sampey Sets New Pro Stock Motorcycle Track Record at
Auto Club Raceway

BREA, CA – November 14, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Displaying the speed that made it a championship contender throughout the season, the Vance & Hines/Mission Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle team brought down the curtain on the 2022 NHRA season with its seventh number-one qualifying performance of the year but was unable to advance past the second round of eliminations at the NHRA Auto Club Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, on Sunday.

With a combined 13 Pro Stock Motorcycle championships and more than 150 NHRA national event wins between riders Angelle Sampey and Eddie Krawiec and crew chief Andrew Hines, himself a six-time champion as a rider, the Vance & Hines/Mission Suzuki team brought decades of race-winning experience to the starting line in its first season under Suzuki sponsorship. The team approached the season with high expectations but struggled to deliver consistent results during an up-and-down season, notching only a single win during the campaign. The team has already set its eyes on year two of the relationship with renewed expectations.

Consistently having the fastest bike in the field, Sampey earned the top qualifying spot on her Suzuki Hayabusa for the sixth time in 15 races this year. Her 6.703-second/201.61mph blast on Friday reset the Pro Stock Motorcycle track record at the fabled Auto Club Raceway, which has been the home of the NHRA Finals since 1984. It was the 59th top qualifying performance for the three-time class champion, who with 46 career wins is the winningest female racer in NHRA history.

Angelle Sampey (2) finishes the 2022 season with her 59th top qualifying position

Angelle Sampey (2) finishes the 2022 season with her 59th top qualifying position and sets a new track record at Pomona. 

Sampey got a free run in the first round of eliminations against non-starter Katie Justice, running a 6.829-second/192.17mph pass to automatically advance. But in a repeat of the starting-line woes that plagued her for much of the season, Sampey lost in the second round on a redlight foul despite making a 6.732-second/202.18mph run that would have easily covered Steve Johnson’s 7.126-second/152.80mph run.

“I had the best motorcycle at the race track all year long, and for one reason or another, which was my fault just about all the time, I didn’t win more races. It’s a very disappointing end to the season. I hoped I could turn it around and finish the last race on a high note. I had the motorcycle…

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