RYAN DUNGEY
MAKES IT
OFFICIAL :
HE'S DONE
RACING
A
fter successfully defending his
450SX Supercross Championship
for the third consecutive time (and
fourth of his career), Ryan Dungey an-
nounced his somewhat surprising re-
tirement from racing at a special press
conference held at Angel Stadium in
Anaheim, California, May 16.
Dungey was discovered by Roger
DeCoster in 2006, who was the
Suzuki factory team manager at
the time (perhaps more accurately,
Dungey discovered DeCoster). He
was given an opportunity to try out
for DeCoster's team when he was
still technically a B-class racer, and
DeCoster saw something in the young
Minnesotan that he liked. He signed
Dungey to the factory Suzuki team
right away, and Dungey made his
debut at the Millville National that year,
going 8-8 for seventh overall.
Probably the only flaw in Dungey's
armor early in his career was his
mental strength, and it's something he
struggled with throughout much of his
career.
He made his 250SX debut the next
year, racing the 250SX East series,
and his speed indoors was apparent
immediately. Dungey won in his debut
in Atlanta, then everything came apart
for him the next three races, scoring
IN
THE
WIND
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