VOL. 53 ISSUE 30 AUGUST 2, 2016 P71
for me, because it was a child-
hood dream, so when it came
true and I got to the professional
level, it was like, 'This is awe-
some!' But it was a whole other
ball game. As an amateur, you're
like, 'I hope I make it pro! That
would just be a great way to top
it all off. I'll be happy for life.'
Well, no. You get to the pros,
and it's a whole other ball game,
and you're like, 'If I could just win
a championship, man, I would
just be so satisfied!' Well, no.
Because then you win a cham-
pionship, and it's like, 'Well, that
didn't bring me the satisfaction
that I thought it would for very
long.' Then it's on to the next
one, and the next one, and the
next one. They're really short-
lived."
Truthfully, many racers have to
learn to make a conscious effort
to enjoy their successes when
they come along. Win a race,
take Sunday and maybe Monday
off. Win a championship? Make
sure you take a couple weeks in
the off-season. Some guys even
reward themselves with things
they really want, and could totally
afford, but they hold off on buy-
ing them until they can do so as
a reward, such as one racer who
makes seven figures but waited
until after he won a race to buy
himself a MacBook Pro.
"At the end of the season, you
can enjoy it, but that's one thing
I learned from when I was new
to the pros: I used to always be
focused just on the next one and
never took the time to enjoy my
success," Dungey said. "It's im-
portant to enjoy it. You can't sit
on cloud nine forever, but you've
got to enjoy it Sunday at least,
because by Monday morning it's
usually back to work."
BEATING ROCZEN
When Dungey dropped out of
the MX Nationals, especially
considering that he finished his
final moto and charged all the
way up to fourth place from way
in the back, it was not a stretch
to imagine that he wasn't quite
as hurt as he was making him-
After 10 years on
the professional
circuit, the thought of
retirement has popped
into Dungey's head.
Another well-known
rider called it quits
after 10 years—Ricky
Carmichael. Dungey is,
however, committed
through 2017.
