hershey
PR Elite
So we hit up Red bud for the 4th of July spectacular, the coveted Pro National! We had a fantastic time! Arrived weds night, practiced thursday 5 sessions, raced one class friday, Austin raced friday night and Austin and Ayla raced sat night! We had VIP tickets in the North tent which is worth every penny. We cruised the pits all day and talked to many riders. As you can see we dressed the part. Unfortunately I dont have a good shot with my daughter also.
Friday night Austin pulled a holeshot and gave a clinic to the wobbler class! He was sooooo excited! Got a $50 lucas oil certificate, a Sunstar sprockets hat, a bunch of stickers and even free pizza from one of the vendors. Spoils go to the winner!
So being the good Dad I tell him we will get some of the pros to sign his first place trophy. He really wanted Ryan Dungey's because he rides a KTM and Austin just got one too, plus he wins a lot he said. OK....Dad is on a mission! So saturday the boy and I are off to the pits about 9am, we start staking out which trailers to hit up..... After the first praactice session we catch up with Cooper Webb under his tent talking with his mechanic about the bike. I walk over and ask him to sign Austins trophy from the night before. He gladly does so and congratulates him on his win. Webb was still in his gear minus his jersey and was a great guy to take the time to talk with us. Next we hit up Cristophe Pourcel. Now people like to say he is a bit too good for fans sometimes, not in our case. We got the same greeting from him also! Good guy and polite to us. He was very particular about the handle bars and how tight he wanted his steering stem though.
Brock tickle was the first rider we got to after the first 450 practice. He came right over and signed also. Next was Blake Baggett, we couldnt find Roczen so we went to the JGR tent. Barcia was on board with signing for us. We cruised by the KTM rig and hung out a bit but no Dungey. Off the the RCH rig again, no Roczen so we walked around the corner to his RV. There were a few women sitting out there in chairs talking, I asked them if Ken was in the RV, if so would he sign my sons trophy. One lady jumped right up and said he was busy getting ready for the next practice and probably in his underwear but she would get him to sign it. Sure enough he did! By this point Austin is jumping for joy .... but he wants Dungey's. We go watch some more practice and when done off to the KTM rig again. A while after the practice we see Dungey aitting on his RV steps. We walk over and I give Austin his trophy to ask the Dunge for his signature. When he sees us coming he immediately says NO!..... I stop about 15-20 ft away so Im not intruding and explain to him Austin was 5 and just won the wobbler class the night before ... he really wanted to get your autograph. Without even a moments hesitation he tells us NO....you need to leave now ...no....I dont have time, please leave. Later I will.... leave now. Ok.... he is tired and wants to rest, eat , whatever. If you know how 5 year olds work you know Austin couldnt understand why he didnt sign it. I explain about how tired he must be and he said we could get it later. We watched all the exciting racing that day, as most of you know it was great all day!
After the motos we head back over to the pits. We see Zach Osbourn and he talked to us a minute while signing his trophy. We stop by Dungeys trailer but he isnt around, Marvin wasnt either. We ran into Aldon Baker and talked with him. Nice guy and he acted surprised when we asked for his autograph. Back to KTM, no Dungey. We see DeCoster, when he was finished talking with the mechanics I asked him over. Super great guy, very friendly and talkative. He gladly signed for Austin and expressed how it was cool he had won his race. I asked him if Dungey was around and would be out later to sign it also. He said to be patient and that he would be out and take care of us. He assured us the wait would pay off. So another 30-45 mins go by, no Dungey. Finally we walked around the corner to look at his RV... he came out from there and was walking across the road to the other KTM rig. I again asked him to sign, he turned and looked at us ( it was Ayla and I at this point as Austin was napping to get ready for his race). He had to have recognized me and my outfit/hat from before, surely he would sign. NO he said, I dont have time. Sorry.... NO.... and quickly walked away from us.
The first time I asked him there were no other people any where around us, the second time there was one other person there who also wanted an autograph. It wasnt like he was mobbed and the second time was an hour after his last moto... he was showered and clean. We got a great plaque with really fantastic autographs from the race, it just stinks that Dungey couldnt take the time to sign a trophy for a 5 year old boy. Terrible role model as Austin still doesnt understand why Ryan wouldnt sign it. Especially since Ryan is portrayed as the clean cut all american boy who takes the time for everybody, in reality he was the ONLY rider we asked that wouldnt take the time.
Thanks for nothing Dungey, you are a great rider but a terrible role model and spokes person for your sponsors. You lost 4 fans in my family this past weekend. Fortunately we still had one of the best race experiences to date!
Friday night Austin pulled a holeshot and gave a clinic to the wobbler class! He was sooooo excited! Got a $50 lucas oil certificate, a Sunstar sprockets hat, a bunch of stickers and even free pizza from one of the vendors. Spoils go to the winner!
So being the good Dad I tell him we will get some of the pros to sign his first place trophy. He really wanted Ryan Dungey's because he rides a KTM and Austin just got one too, plus he wins a lot he said. OK....Dad is on a mission! So saturday the boy and I are off to the pits about 9am, we start staking out which trailers to hit up..... After the first praactice session we catch up with Cooper Webb under his tent talking with his mechanic about the bike. I walk over and ask him to sign Austins trophy from the night before. He gladly does so and congratulates him on his win. Webb was still in his gear minus his jersey and was a great guy to take the time to talk with us. Next we hit up Cristophe Pourcel. Now people like to say he is a bit too good for fans sometimes, not in our case. We got the same greeting from him also! Good guy and polite to us. He was very particular about the handle bars and how tight he wanted his steering stem though.
Brock tickle was the first rider we got to after the first 450 practice. He came right over and signed also. Next was Blake Baggett, we couldnt find Roczen so we went to the JGR tent. Barcia was on board with signing for us. We cruised by the KTM rig and hung out a bit but no Dungey. Off the the RCH rig again, no Roczen so we walked around the corner to his RV. There were a few women sitting out there in chairs talking, I asked them if Ken was in the RV, if so would he sign my sons trophy. One lady jumped right up and said he was busy getting ready for the next practice and probably in his underwear but she would get him to sign it. Sure enough he did! By this point Austin is jumping for joy .... but he wants Dungey's. We go watch some more practice and when done off to the KTM rig again. A while after the practice we see Dungey aitting on his RV steps. We walk over and I give Austin his trophy to ask the Dunge for his signature. When he sees us coming he immediately says NO!..... I stop about 15-20 ft away so Im not intruding and explain to him Austin was 5 and just won the wobbler class the night before ... he really wanted to get your autograph. Without even a moments hesitation he tells us NO....you need to leave now ...no....I dont have time, please leave. Later I will.... leave now. Ok.... he is tired and wants to rest, eat , whatever. If you know how 5 year olds work you know Austin couldnt understand why he didnt sign it. I explain about how tired he must be and he said we could get it later. We watched all the exciting racing that day, as most of you know it was great all day!
After the motos we head back over to the pits. We see Zach Osbourn and he talked to us a minute while signing his trophy. We stop by Dungeys trailer but he isnt around, Marvin wasnt either. We ran into Aldon Baker and talked with him. Nice guy and he acted surprised when we asked for his autograph. Back to KTM, no Dungey. We see DeCoster, when he was finished talking with the mechanics I asked him over. Super great guy, very friendly and talkative. He gladly signed for Austin and expressed how it was cool he had won his race. I asked him if Dungey was around and would be out later to sign it also. He said to be patient and that he would be out and take care of us. He assured us the wait would pay off. So another 30-45 mins go by, no Dungey. Finally we walked around the corner to look at his RV... he came out from there and was walking across the road to the other KTM rig. I again asked him to sign, he turned and looked at us ( it was Ayla and I at this point as Austin was napping to get ready for his race). He had to have recognized me and my outfit/hat from before, surely he would sign. NO he said, I dont have time. Sorry.... NO.... and quickly walked away from us.
The first time I asked him there were no other people any where around us, the second time there was one other person there who also wanted an autograph. It wasnt like he was mobbed and the second time was an hour after his last moto... he was showered and clean. We got a great plaque with really fantastic autographs from the race, it just stinks that Dungey couldnt take the time to sign a trophy for a 5 year old boy. Terrible role model as Austin still doesnt understand why Ryan wouldnt sign it. Especially since Ryan is portrayed as the clean cut all american boy who takes the time for everybody, in reality he was the ONLY rider we asked that wouldnt take the time.
Thanks for nothing Dungey, you are a great rider but a terrible role model and spokes person for your sponsors. You lost 4 fans in my family this past weekend. Fortunately we still had one of the best race experiences to date!
