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Sampey and Bryce Reunited for 2008

Three-time NHRA POWERade champion Pro Stock Motorcycle
driver Angelle Sampey and six-time champion tuner George Bryce will reunite
for a run at the 2008 title aboard Karl and Kim Klement's Rush Racing Products
S&S powered V-Twin. The pair had a run of success starting in 2000 with
Winston sponsorship and won the 2002 championship with associate sponsorship
from Mohegan Sun casino. Though always near the top of the performance charts
and point standings, neither has won a championship since. Bryce has been working
with S&S Cycle to help develop a winning combination with the S&S Pro
Stock billet V-Twin and the Kosman Specialties G2 chassis. That development
reached its fruition when the formula won the 2007 championship, and Bryce and
Sampey hope to bring this year's championship in-house for Klement sponsor Rush
Racing Products.
"Angelle and I raced together for seven years," said Bryce. "We
missed four championships in a row by only eight points in 1999, then we won
the next three straight. I know it is different out there now than it was when
we won so much. So much has changed in our lives and in our sport. But I know
we respect each other's abilities, strength, and passion for winning now more
than ever."
"I'm very excited about the reunion tour with George and Jackie Bryce,"
said Sampey. "They always have been like family to me since the day they
gave me my first opportunity to race in the NHRA with the Star Racing team.
We've had our share of bumps and bruises along the way, but just like family,
we've always worked through it and remained there for each other throughout
the years, even when we were in competition against each other. I think I am
better at anything I try when I have a coach, and GB3 (Bryce) is the best racing
coach there is."
"To be honest about it, I hate racing against her," said Bryce. "The
reason we were so successful together the first time was her undeniable competitive
spirit and drive, and I'm the same way. Even when we did not get along, the
will to do what was required to win kept us on the same page.
"Angelle and I have talked for years about one day maybe having a reunion
tour. Though it seemed kind of impossible to pull off, we did think that if
we could, it would be a ton of fun. Now the stars seem to have aligned perfectly
for several reasons. My G2 partner George Smith and crew chief Ken Johnson have
been very successful running the G2 team without me, and Karl and I proved that
we could win together. Karl and Kim had a record breaking first season for new
team owners. If it was not a record success for a rookie team, it was close
to it, for sure."
"Putting Angelle on our Rush Racing bike was huge, but completing the deal
with George Bryce, George Smith, and G2 Motorsports is an extremely important
part in making a run to the championship," said Karl Klement. "Our
team enjoyed such great success last year with G2 and their S&S engines
without an engine failure. They stepped up to the plate and got us what we needed
to make a run in the Countdown. Everyone behind the scenes at G2 and S&S
is what makes a team like ours run as well as we do, from Ken Johnson and Ruth
Olson to Derek Churchwell and everybody in the engine shop. Not only are they
very supportive, but I get along with them all down there and we have a very
good relationship. The reliability that I've got and the friends I've made is
why we have a good combination to make a run for the championship."
"Angelle and George have proven in the past that they're a force to be
reckoned with," said Rush Racing Products president Lou Pringle. "We're
looking forward to a great race year and I think it's going to open some eyes
to what they can accomplish. They have a great team behind them and I expect
to be in the winners circle a few times.
"I know what George Bryce is capable of
tuning these V-Twins, and I can't wait to ride that Rush Racing Rocket with
GB3 and the rest of the team behind me!" added Angelle. "My goal is
to win five more races to gain the title of 'Winningest Pro Stock Motorcycle
Racer' and I know that my best chance of making that happen is with George and
Karl and the rest of my new Rush Racing Products team."
Sampey's attack on the 45 win mark held by the late Dave Schultz is garnering
interest beyond the class. "A TV producer called me and told me that Angelle
needed to win just five more races to enter into the record books as the winningest
rider in history," said Bryce. "The producer said that she was trying
to sell a cool TV show to several networks about Angelle's wild and crazy life
and lifestyle. The networks pointed out to her that it was a cool idea, but
was it really possible for her to win five more races in the length of time
to put a decent show together in this day and age of ultra competitiveness in
our Pro Stock Motorcycle class? You all know that Angelle and I only took two
Wally's home with us in all of 2007, one each. That TV show may take five more
years to come true at that rate!"
The show is called ''Devil on Two Wheels'', and the plot got extra thick and
spicy with Bryce thrown into the roux. "The Producer called me out of the
blue and said 'George, do you think you and Angelle could race together again?
And would you win more together than apart?' I said 'Yes, I would hope so!'
It is tough out there now, but I believe that we would win more racing together
than racing against each other. I am so amazed that the opportunity of a lifetime
has presented itself the way it has. To say than I am excited would be an understatement.
The reunion of our winning spirit with G2 Motorsports and the S&S powered
V-Twin monster gives Angelle the best chance to win rounds, races, and ultimately
her fourth championship."
The 2008 POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle season resumes at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals,
March 13-16, 2008 at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida.
Angelle and the team would like to thank Rush
Racing Products, DynoJet
Research, PJ1, Motion
Pro, Royal Purple,
Wiseco Pistons, Precision
Motorcycle Products, Darcy
Racing, and Tucker
Rocky Distributing for their support.
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