VOL. 52 ISSUE 35 SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 P55
earned it. We really pushed to
be here and worked hard. With
the addition of Aldon Baker this
year, that was a big step for-
ward, and the new bike. A lot of
good things."
Dungey's first and last
thoughts, nearly every day,
has been about winning these
championships. Understanding
that, it's easy to see why he kept
asking people as he rode off the
track after moto one in Utah if
he won the championship, even
though he won the moto and he
knew that any finish, second or
better, would win the title.
"I had to keep asking people if
it's done! I had to keep confirm-
ing it," Dungey said. "But I was
also so focused on wanting to
win the second moto that I didn't
want to get too caught up in it."
All of the "congratulations"
while he was waiting for the start
of moto two were distracting
to him. As far as he was con-
cerned, he still had a lot of work
to do if he was going to take the
overall. It's a problem that most
championship-winning racers
have faced, and some of them
face it for their entire careers:
They're so focused on what
comes next that they frequently
never get a chance to celebrate
their successes until they're
retired from racing.
>>RESPONSIBILITY
Success comes with responsibil-
ity. There are the obvious things,
such as the fact that winning
comes with popularity among
the fans, and the popularity
brings with it more demands on
your time.
"It's been an amazing career,"
Dungey said. "I don't want to
say I didn't believe I'd accom-
plish this much, because I
really wanted to—I wanted to win
championships and races—but
it's very rewarding and satisfying
with all the hard work and effort
that we put in, including the
people around me and all that
they sacrifice as well."
But then there are the less
obvious responsibilities that
younger racers rarely under-
stand, and Dungey is beginning
to understand them.
"I've got great people—I don't
want to call them employees,
but I've got great people work-
"WE'D ALL
LOVE TO COME
OUT AND BE
LIKE RICKY
CARMICHAEL
WAS, BUT THE
TRUTH IS THAT
WE'RE ALL
DIFFERENT,
AND IF I WAS
SUPPOSED
TO BE RICKY
CARMICHAEL,
I'D HAVE BEEN
BORN RICKY
CARMICHAEL!"
Other past champs have said that
you have to surround yourself
around good people to win
championships. Here, Dungey
surrounds himself with Baker and
Roger DeCoster.
