Drag racing rider, pioneer, record-holder

She’s not just one of the most successful female racers in drag racing history, she’s one of the most successful in motorsports history. Over the course of her career, the hugely popular New Orleans native has won three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championships (2000-02) and, as of 2022, remains third all-time in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle wins with 46. Sampey, 1990 inductee Shirley Muldowney and Pro Stock champion Erica Enders-Stevens are the only women with more than 10 NHRA event victories. Sampey and Muldowney are the only women with three NHRA championships. Sampey’s career began when she took her then-fiancee’s street bike to the local strip. It took off when she met George Bryce, an instructor at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School, who became the guiding force behind her championships and most of her event wins. "She said she first wanted to win a round, then a race, and in about five years, a championship," Bryce told espnW.com. "Within 24 months, she had all of them."