Despite the potential and considerable preseason hype, something went horribly wrong, and Sampey suffered through the first winless season of her career and finished a disappointing fifth in the Countdown to the Championship. In the aftermath, Sampey parted company with team owner Klement and is facing an uncertain future as she does not have a ride for the 2009 season.

"I can't really put my finger on one thing that went wrong this year," Sampey said. "I heard a lot of people say, 'Well, she's on a new bike, and this is a new team, and it's going to take time for them to jell,' but that wasn't the case. I got used to the [Buell] by the time we finished testing; that bike is actually pretty easy to get down the track. I mean, every once in a while I would short-shift it or something like that, but my being unfamiliar with the bike wasn't the cause of our problems. I think it was more to do with just plain bad luck. There were times where I made a mistake and that cost us a round, and there were other times where the bike wasn't right and it let us down, or maybe the crew made a mistake. We had a lot of potential, but we were just never able to put everything together at the same time. The whole thing was really very frustrating."

"Earlier this year in Charlotte, I almost didn't qualify," Sampey recalled. "We went into the last session not qualified, but thankfully, I managed to get in. It would have broken my heart if we weren't racing on Sunday. I've never had to experience that feeling, and hopefully I never will."

Sampey also qualified No. 1 at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals and reached back-to-back final rounds in Brainerd and Reading. In Brainerd, she had an excellent shot to defeat Matt Smith, who was dealing with the painful effects of a kidney stone, but her bike wouldn't start prior to the final. A week later in Reading, Sampey again made it to the final but was outrun by Smith, 6.95 to 7.06.

"When we made it to those finals, I really thought our team had turned the corner," she said. "I thought for sure I was going to beat Matt in the Brainerd final. He had a great bike, but I still thought we were going to win. Then when the final cut [for the Countdown to 1] was coming up, we were pretty solidly in the field. I believed that we would win a couple of races during the Countdown and we'd be right in there fighting for the championship when we got to Las Vegas and Pomona. Obviously, that didn't work out either."

A semifinal loss in Charlotte followed by a frustrating round-two red-light against Angie McBride in Dallas pretty much ended Sampey's hopes for a fourth championship. After her bike broke a fuel pump on the starting line in the season finale in Pomona, she dropped to fifth place.

"I still want to race, and I feel like I still have what it takes to get the job done," Sampey said. "After the disappointment we had this year, I am more motivated than ever to go out and show that I can win races. Physically, I am in the best shape of my career, and I'm doing great in my personal life. I just need a job for next year."

The uncertainty in Sampey's professional life comes at a time when her personal life has never been more fulfilling. Her boyfriend, Seth Drago, is a U.S. Army medic who accompanies her to as many events as possible.

"Seth and I have a great relationship, and things are going very well for us," she said. "He comes from a great family, and they are wonderful people to be around. I've also gotten my blue belt in Brazilian jiujitsu, which is a pretty big accomplishment. It may be a while before I move up to the next level, which is a purple belt, because lately I haven't been training as hard as I should be. If I don't race next year, I'll have more time for training, but I'd rather be racing a Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"I understand that I might have to sit out 2009, and that would really suck," Sampey said. "I race for a living, so I need to make enough money to pay the bills. If I have to, I'll go back to school and renew my nursing certification or I'll start working at my Suzuki dealership, but obviously that's not where my heart lies. If I didn't race, I'd miss it terribly. As I said earlier, I still believe in my heart that I can win another championship. I just need someone to give me a chance."

This story is copyright 2008 by the National Hot Rod Association. It may not be reprinted or reused in any way without the express written consent of NHRA.com.

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