Dungey and Fiolek Prepare for ESPY Awards

July 14, 2010, 9:18am

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - While their focus remains on capturing the 2010 titles with the resumption of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship and MotorcycleUSA.com Women's Motocross Championship this weekend in Millville, Minn., Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey and Honda Red Bull Racing's Ashley Fiolek are ready to have some fun on Wednesday night with some of the world's most famous athletes. Recently, the pair of American motocross superstars were announced as nominees for the ESPN ESPY Awards in the male and female categories for Best Action Sports Athlete.

Thanks to the tremendous amount of success he has achieved in the last year, Dungey, who currently leads the 450 Class standings with a five-race winning streak, is up for his first nomination in the category. In 2009, the Minnesota native experienced a breakthrough season, capturing the AMA Supercross Lites Western Regional Championship, AMA Motocross 250 Class Championship and leading Team USA to the overall win at the Motocross of Nations before capping of the year with Rider of the Year honors.

So far in 2010, the rising star has continued his dominance during his rookie season in the premier 450 Class. This winter, he joined Jeremy McGrath as the only other rider in history to win the AMA Supercross Championship as a rookie and as mentioned before, sits atop the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship standings halfway through the season. He becomes the fifth AMA Motocross champion to be nominated for an ESPY, joining Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana, Chad Reed and James Stewart on this illustrious list.

Since joining the elite level of women's motocross in the U.S. in 2008, Fiolek has been the rider to beat. Last season, she captured her second consecutive WMX Class championship and grabbed an ESPN X Games gold medal along the way. Through four of eight rounds this season, she has had to overcome some adversity thanks to a formidable challenge from her WMX rival and former five-time champion Jessica Patterson. At the last round of the championship, Fiolek captured her first win of the season with a dominating 1-1 effort at RedBud.

Making Fiolek's nomination more compelling is her incredible story as the most successful deaf athlete in motocross history. In addition to overcoming that obstacle, she has helped push the sport of women's motocross to new heights, most notably by opening a new avenue for female competitors to receive the same factory support as the men. This marks Fiolek's second straight ESPY nomination, joining Patterson as WMX riders to receive the distinction.

Dungey and Fiolek will join fellow star athletes like Kobe Bryant, Payton Manning, Derek Jeter, Sidney Crosby and Landon Donovan in Los Angeles tomorrow evening for the festivities. While voting for the ESPY's has closed, motocross fans can show their support of the duo by tuning in at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This Saturday's Rockstar Energy Spring Creek National airs with back-to-back same-day coverage this Saturday on SPEED. The exclusive broadcast of the 250 Class kicks off the two hours of excitement beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern, while the 450 Class follows at 9 p.m. As always, a live stream of the first motos of each class can be seen at www.allisports.com/motocross.

For tickets and fan and racing information on the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, log on to www.allisports.com/motocross.

For more information about the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, please contact media coordinator Brandon Short via email at brandon@mxsports.com or by telephone at (949) 365-5750.

About the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is the world's most prestigious motocross series. The Series is managed and produced by MX Sports Pro Racing, whose mission is to raise awareness of motocross racing through the promotion of professional championship racing events nationwide.

The series is also produced in conjunction with Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, a global business that encompasses national and international action sports events, multimedia production and a consumer-based lifestyle brand.

Alli is owned by NBC Sports and MTV Networks and represents a vast network of athletes, fans, brands and properties.

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross series is sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America. AMA Pro Racing operates a full schedule of events and championships across every spectrum of motorcycle competition.