NHRA: Seeling eyes U.S. Nationals prize, NHRA Winston Championship
25 August 1999
CLERMONT, Ind. - For Angelle Seeling, this has been a season about accomplishing goals.For the first time in her four-year Pro Stock Motorcycle career, she leads the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series point standings. She also has set national records for elapsed time and speed. With four victories, she's already bettered her single season win total.
Yes, it's truly been an amazing season so far for the former registered intensive care nurse.
Yet, as good as it's been, there's still a couple of items to be marked off Seeling's Pro Stock Motorcycle wishlist.
A runner-up at the U.S. Nationals one year ago, she has always dreamed of celebrating in winner's circle at the prestigious event. And there's that little matter of becoming only the second female to win an NHRA Winston championship in the history of the sport.
She hopes to move one step closer to achieving both of those goals with a winning performance at the 45th U.S. Nationals, Sept. 1-6 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. The $2.6 million race is the 10th of 14 events for Pro Stock Motorcycles in the $40 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
"Coming into this season my goal was to win six races," said Seeling, 29. "With the way things have gone this season, I've already exceeded my expectations. It's been a great season so far and if we can win the U.S. Nationals and the Winston championship, it would truly be a dream come true."
Seeling has earned victories at Florida's Mac Tools Gatornationals, Atlanta's Advance Auto Parts Southern Nationals, Englishtown, N.J.'s Mopar Parts Nationals and the Sears Craftsman Nationals near St. Louis. Despite the huge amount of success, Seeling and her team remains grounded and determined to realize their goals.
"I'm really proud of myself and my team," Seeling said. "The whole team has been level-headed and we're determined to stay that way all season. Nobody here has an attitude because we're leading the points. Nothing has changed since we started winning, and that's an awesome feeling."
Three's a crowd: While Seeling and Matt Hines have an established rivalry, another rider has placed an early bid for the Winston championship. Team 23 rider Antron Brown, who rides for Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent, has two victories and is making his presence felt.
"As the season gets closer to the end, I think the battle for the championship is going to be tighter than it is now," Brown said. "I believe we can make things really interesting for Angelle and Matt. I have all the confidence in the world in our team and I think we're only going to get better. Last year we took our bumps and bruises and learned a lot. This year everything came together really fast. It's been a lot of fun for our team and we're hungry to do more."
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