The year was 2002. Karen Stoffer and Angelle Sampey were at the top of their game in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class and for one shining moment, the two women met in the first-ever, all-female Pro Stock Motorcycle final.

Fast forward 13 years later, and not much has changed.

At the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park on Sunday, Stoffer and Sampey once again found themselves matched up in the finals of the PSM class, with Stoffer finally evening the series between the two at one-apiece. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another 13 years for the pair to settle the score.

“Angelle has been a champion multiple times and it is always good to lineup next to her,” Stoffer said. “This sport is probably at the forefront and leader for females across the board. Not only riders and drivers, but crew chiefs and crew members and team owners. So it doesn’t really surprise me. I think you are going to see things like this happen more and more often.”

Stoffer, atop the Stoffer Enterprises Suzuki, bested the winningest female in major motorsports competition on Sunday to become the first repeat winner in the class this season. Sampey, trying to get a jump in her Star Racing Buell, went -.014 red in the championship bout, with Stoffer powering to a 6.984-second pass at 193.10 mph to record her second win of the season and eighth of her career. Sunday’s other winners were Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock).

“I am still pinching myself. Who would have ever thought that we would have these kinds of results. Somebody asked me, did you plan how your season was going to go? Well, we are not really here for a season,” Stoffer said. “We are here race-by-race and honestly we don’t know how long it is going to last. We are just here to put our best foot forward and put everything out there. If you end up winning, that is icing on the cake. It is a dream season so far, it really is.”

Both riders are coming off of lengthy breaks in their careers, taking time off for work and to raise families. This season is the first time in a long time the two competitors have moved forward with a full-time campaign, and so far the results have been more than they could have imagined.

“It is interesting because we were probably the two people who struggled the most here this weekend. We both struggled Friday and Saturday and we were both early on in qualifying and you never want to do that,” Stoffer said. “There was a lot of talk between us between each round. It was awesome. We both kind of came back after a hiatus. She had a baby and started her family and I took some time off. To come back and meet her in the final and redo what we did, it was phenomenal.

“It was a shame that she went red, you like to see two green lights all the way down, but that is how it is. We all live and die by that tree.”

Stoffer won the race from the 12th position on the ladder, eliminating four former champions to take the Wally. Stoffer beat Matt Smith, Eddie Krawiec, LE Tonglet and Sampey. All three rounds leading up to the final were close, with the closest being a second round matchup against points leader Krawiec. The pair traded the lead multiple times down the track, with Stoffer crossing the line with a 6.972 to Krawiec’s 6.997.

Sampey was 14th in qualifying and went through Jerry Savoie, Andrew Hines and Chip Ellis to meet Stoffer in the final.

“We struggled tremendously Friday and Saturday. Gary said it is like we pulled out a different bike than the one we put away in Englishtown,” Stoffer said. “He came to me this morning and told me he threw the kitchen sink at it, changed every single thing on the bike. He told me to go out and have fun and do well. That is what we did and we ended up turning on the light four times.”

A lot of drivers like to use the cliche of a “roller-coaster season” when describing a topsy-turvy year, but that is truly the only way to describe the year for Stoffer.

With plans to only run a handful of races close to home, Stoffer’s plans took a hard left when she received an offer to team with Greg Underdahl. With no plans to travel to Gainesville for the season opener prior to the pairing, Stoffer decided to make the trip and turned the gamble into a win.

But after that, things went cold. Stoffer continued to qualify well, but she fell out in the first round at the next three races and plummeted from first to fifth in points.

On Sunday, Stoffer again found that magic with her second win of the season to launch her all the way up to second in the standings.

“When we had the opportunity to acquire our equipment back in December of 2014, I really hadn’t expected to come out in March of 2015. We were trying to put a program together and get some funding and put the whole package together for Sonoma and races close to home,” Stoffer said. “Then Gary called and said, ‘we have got the bike all ready to go. I have made a flight for you and I have made reservations. If you want to change them, you can do it. But I think we should start in Gainesville.’

“Five races in, we are still going strong.”

Eddie Krawiec remains atop the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, but the gap has closed to just 45 points over Stoffer. Andrew Hines dropped to third, with Hector Arana Jr. and Hector Arana rounding out the top five. Sampey jumped to sixth after her first final of the year with the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

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