INTERVIEW
2015 SUPERCROSS AND 450 MOTOCROSS CHAMPION RYAN DUNGEY
P60
"Two things: I think there's all
that I still want to accomplish,"
Dungey said. "I tell you right
now, I'm very thankful to be able
to make money in racing and
everything and be in a posi-
tion to do what I love and make
money doing it, but I don't do it
for the money. I never have and I
never will. The second I'm doing
it for the money, I'll quit, because
it's not about that. You've got to
have a love and a passion for
what you're doing. And the other
thing isn't fear, either. I think
there's still a lot more I want to
accomplish, winning champi-
onships and races. And I think
there's a lot that I can't see now
that, if I open my mind up a little
bit more to all the good things,
that will manifest if I give it my all
and be the best I can be, and
believe in myself and push my-
self to the limits, that's motivat-
ing. And I'm sure it's pretty tough
to retire because you don't have
that drive to get up anymore. I
wake up excited to go out and
do what I love, and although it's
tough at times—it's not always
like I'm jumping out of bed—it
drives me to be better. Obvi-
ously, it's a short career here,
but I also know that everybody
else is tired, too, and everybody
else is going to give in to that
mentality where they're tired and
they go to the track tired and
go through the motions. I don't
want to be that guy. I want to be
the guy above that. I want to be
better than that, and I don't want
to just mope around and be tired
and this and that, because it's all
mental. Mentally, you're telling
yourself you're tired, but physi-
cally you're not. And yeah, things
can be tough! You have to sac-
rifice your comfort sometimes
to do great things, and you've
got to sacrifice in life outside
of racing, too. I'm sure people
working 9-to-5 jobs don't want
to get up some days, either, and
I'm thankful my job isn't an office
job—and I don't mean that with
any offense—but everyone has
their struggles no matter what."
Dungey says the hardest thing
for him to do is live up to his own
expectations, and to always be a
contender. There's no down-time
Dungey's tuner
Carlos Rivera has
played a big role
in all of Dungey's
championships.
