Her father said he already had a son and wanted a daughter. Her mother wanted her to be a professional ballet dancer.

But Angelle Sampey chose to dance in a different way — at 190 miles per hour down the quarter-mile.

At 17 years old and against her parents’ wishes, Sampey jumped on a motorcycle and has since ridden her way to three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championships (2000-2002). She will ride her U.S. Army Suzuki today, Saturday and Sunday in the FRAM Autolite Nationals at Sonoma’s Infineon Raceway.

Sampey started dirtbike riding when she was six with her brother. Her interest soared and so did her talent. At 13, Mom and Dad pulled her off the bike and slapped ballet slippers on her. Sampey even competed in beauty pageants to appease her mother.

For a few years, Sampey obliged but then got restless and started racing behind her parents’ back. At 25, she went to drag racing school in Florida and earned her racing license. A family friend also raced motorcycles and pleaded with Sampey’s parents to come and watch their daughter at the track.

“They didn’t want to come and watch me,” Sampey said.

“(My mom) felt that if she came to watch me, that would mean she was supporting me. But she finally did. Now my dad is my biggest fan. My dad would not know what to do with himself (if I quit).

“They started it — they put me on a motorcycle when I was six years old.”

Sampey has notched 40 career wins. That’s just five shy of tying all-time leader Dave Schultz, a record she’s looking to break sooner than later. That title means more to her because it has to do with all NHRA drivers, not just women.

“I think about it all the time,” Sampey said.

“I want that title. Being the winningest female doesn’t mean anything to me. I want that title before I quit racing. I don’t have any ideas or when it’s going to happen. I try not to think about it too much. I have to think about the round I’m on right now.”

Sampey leads all women in pro category victories with 40 — 22 ahead of Shirley Muldowney of Top Fuel fame. She ties Muldowney for most series championships.

The 5-foot speedster weighs in at 100 pounds — making it hard to control her 500-pound motorcycle. But then again, her petite stature kind of gives the bike an advantage because she and her team can add more weight to it since all bikes have to weigh in at 600 pounds.

But then again, she’s only 100 pounds and not quite as strong as her male competitors, so wrestling that beast can be tough.

“Yes and no,” Sampey said about having an advantage because of her size. “Yes, because we do get to distribute the weight on the motorcycle with more weight in the front. But harder because the bike is heavier than everyone else’s. I have to hang my whole body on the side to move the bike (over). I have to be quicker and stronger than everyone else. I know I’m not stronger than everyone else, but comparatively. I work out physically the hardest in our class.”

Sampey’s favorite way to stay in shape in practicing Brazilian Jujitsu.

Sampey has posted one win at Sonoma, in 2004, and is looking to grab another on Sunday, for her forth of the season.

“I love racing in Sonoma, it’s a wonderful track,” Sampey said. “It’s easy because it’s smooth. The fans there are unbelievable, they’re the best for Pro Stock Motorcycles. We can feel that. We have lots of fans everywhere else but the reception we get at Sonoma, I personally really enjoy racing there.

“I think we’re going to come back strong and do well. I’m hoping to do well enough to get the points lead back. I’m pretty confident we’ll do that.”

Sampey is second in the championship points, just 28 behind Andrew Hines — last year’s winner at Sonoma. Taking the lead away from Hines and winning her fourth championship is Sampey’s No. 1 goal right now.

“I want it so bad I can taste it,” Sampey said. “I want to win it as much as my first championship. For some reason, I don’t know what it is, whatever fire that has been lit under me, I hope it stays there. If you can’t be excited about what you’re doing, you should be doing something else.

“We top out at 190 to 195 miles per hour in hopefully less than seven seconds. It’s like a roller coaster. I call it a kick in the ass. It’s just so fun, I’ve never done anything as fun as riding a bike. Every win feels like my first.”

Sampey rides off the track as well, but on Suzuki GSXR750 — a little lighter than her 1000 at work. Though she guns it on the track, she just cruises on the streets.

She owns a Suzuki dealership in her hometown of New Orleans.

Because of her ties with Suzuki, Sampey pays attention to the AMA Superbike and Super MotoGP races but admits she has zero intention of switching to course racing.

“That’s too crazy. I like knowing that my opponents get disqualified if they get near me,” Sampey said.

Pro Stock motorcycle fans are in luck — Sampey will be around for a while.