Breaking Records and Breaking Stereotypes NHRA Champ, Keynote Speaker Angelle Sampey to share How To Win It All

IRVINE, CA – January 25, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – She’s 5’1”, 115 pounds and manages a 500-pound, 400-horsepower motorcycle at 200 miles per hour. Angelle Sampey, the winningest female racer in NHRA history, will join Kerry Graeber of Suzuki Motor USA to talk about grit, tenacity, and how to use the unexpected to break down barriers and achieve success in life and business. She’ll be on the main stage Wednesday, February 15, as AIMExpo’s keynote speaker.

“My life, my career has always been about never giving up and never giving in,” said Sampey, the latest addition to AIMExpo’s educational lineup. “Being a woman drag-racing motorcycles has taught me that there are no barriers you can’t overcome and that you have the power to change people’s minds. I hope that by sharing my story, I can help the powersports community realize just how much influence they have, especially as we work to bring more people into our awesome community.”

“Angelle is a legend, with unparalleled success in the highly charged world of professional drag racing,” said Graeber, senior vice president, division manager of sales and marketing at Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. “While our industry works hard to reach beyond our traditional customers, I’m eager to hear insights Angelle may have to help us inspire more people to ride. Angelle doesn’t fit the traditional expectations many have about motorcyclists in general and her story will force us to rethink long-held, and outdated, perceptions about who our customers are.”

Sampey began her professional racing career in 1996, and after just four entries, she won her first race in Reading, Pennsylvania. Not only did she win, she was also the number one qualifier and reset the National E.T. record. By 2001, Sampey became the winningest female racer and continues to hold that title with 46 wins and three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championships. But after the 2008 season, at age 38, she retired from drag racing to pursue another goal — starting a family. Little did she know, her racing career was far from over.

“It was scary to leave racing behind. It’s what I knew, what I loved,” Sampey said. “What I never imagined was how, by doing something different, I was able to achieve all my dreams and find even more success.”

In 2014, Sampey received a call from a former team asking her to fill in after their rider had left. “I wasn’t sure about it at first,” Sampey said. “I…