250 Words: Salt Lake City

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Stories of burnout, laziness and wasted talent grab headlines, but the bottom line is that in the trenches, there are lots of kids who want it bad and push for it every Saturday night. The West Lites finale in Salt Lake City serves as more proof. Ryan Dungey, who finished fourth in the race and claimed his first title, is a notorious hard worker who also was able to overcome the demons left from last year’s remarkable loss of the championship points lead to the notorious J-Law. Dungey has officially kicked the bad rep he gained during last year’s struggle—this time, in a high-pressure environment, he got good starts, rode smart, and played it cool.

He’s not the only worker, though. The Troy Lee Designs Honda duo of Jake Moss and Chris Blose looked good early in the race, holding first and third—no one was talking about these guys at the beginning of the year, but determination has brought them to the front. And at the front of the pack late in the race, you had GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer going for it, neither willing to let off in pursuit of victory. Canard succeeded for his first win of the year.

Weimer, meanwhile, missed a chance for his fourth because he didn’t even realize it was the last lap. That means Weimer missed an opportunity to win, but that was an accident—otherwise, the guys at the front on Saturday night are working to take advantage of every opportunity they get.