WASHOUGAL — Horsepower Hill. The trees that seem to stretch forever. The sun, then shade, then sun again that makes every turn just a bit trickier than a normal motocross track.
All of these things make up the Washougal MX National.
Ryan Dungey kicking some, er, dirt is just another constant at Washougal.
“I like coming here. I got my very first win here. Ever since, I like coming here,” Dungey said.
No duh.
Dungey, who hails from Waconia, Minn., might as well buy property in Clark County.
He owns Washougal.
The 24-year-old took the prestigious 450 overall title Saturday at the 34th Washougal MX National, easily winning both motos in front of more than 20,000 fans. It is his sixth victory in Washougal in the past seven years — four at 450 and two at 250.
“This year was the best by far,” Dungey said, noting that the rain earlier in the week made the course that much better. “Great starts today really helped. I was able to put down my laps and ride my race.”
Dungey, riding for Red Bull KTM, won his third overall of the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season. Eli Tomac, who won last week, finished second with 2-2 finishes in the motos.
Ken Roczen, the series points leader, was 3-3 for third place.
Dungey picked up 10 points on Roczen and is just 14 behind now with three events left in 2014.
Dungey went from fourth to first in less than a lap to open up the second moto. He cruised to an eight-second victory. He also had the lead before the first lap ended in the first moto and won by 14 seconds.
It was total domination for the man who now has 37 overalls in his motocross career — the second-best total in series history.
“That first moto, I said ‘I’m going to drop the hammer.’ I needed to start kicking it up a little bit,” Dungey said.
Tomac, from Cortez, Colo., said he was happy with his second-place finish in the first moto because he got off to such a terrible start. But he wanted more from his second moto. Then he saw Dungey start to pull away from him late in the race.
“I was trying, trying, trying, but he was solid,” Tomac said.
Roczen knows that his 24-point lead is now down to 14, but he said he cannot let that consume him. Too many races remain, he said.
“Definitely not where I wanted to be,” the German said of his third-place finish Saturday. “But I gotta take it. I want to keep my head up.”
Dungey also refrained from going into too much detail about the points race. Yes, he is closer to the lead. But he knows better than to focus only on the championship.
Instead, he just wanted to enjoy this victory, at a place that has become special to him. His sixth victory in Washougal ties him with the legendary Ricky Carmichael for the most national motocross wins in the Northwest.
Dungey said he never feels like this is his track to win. He credits a positive attitude for his success.
“I do wake up and say today is going to be a good day,” Dungey said. “I believe in that. And today, it was.”
Every day in Washougal is a good day for Ryan Dungey.
Note: Tommy Weeck, the Bellevue privateer who grew up racing at Washougal, finished 11th overall and took ninth in the second moto.
Washougal MX National
450 Class
1, Ryan Dungey 1-1
2, Eli Tocac 2-2
3, Ken Roczen 3-3
4, Brett Metcalfe 5-4
5, Andrew Short 6-5
450 season points race
(After nine of 12 events)
1, Ken Roczen 407
2, Ryan Dungey 393
3, Trey Canard 330
4, Brett Metcalfe 256
5, James Stewart 226
