Davey Coombs:

I will never forget the words Jeff Stanton told me back when he announced his retirement at the 1994 RedBud National: How do you know when it's time to retire? When you feel the need to ask someone if they think you should retire. Stanton walked away from the sport after 10 years as a pro, winning six championships in his AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame career, one of the all-time greats. He was less than two years past his last championship, but he knew the time had come, and he left on his own terms, just like Ryan Dungey is doing today. The difference is that Dungey is doing it less than two weeks past is last title, the dramatic 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

Honestly, I started to see it coming when Ryan infamously said "it's just dirt bike racing" after one of the races this year, an uncharacteristic shrug in the middle of such a narrow championship fight. Dungey seemed to change this year, especially after early season points leader Ken Roczen's spectacular crash and injury at the second Anaheim SX. Maybe witnessing how quickly it can all go wrong triggered his initial thoughts of calling it a career.

Back in 2014 when Ryan Villopoto decided he was done, he was coming off even more titles, and he was truly on top of his game, winning the last four SX rounds and leading every lap of those rounds. Dungey, on the other hand, seemed to have already peaked. His win total for the season wasn’t nearly as many as he had last year, but he used his championship-management experience (and a break in East Rutherford) to earn himself one last #1 plate. I have little doubt that he's done for good, whether he won this title or not.

Ever since he was plucked out of the intermediate class by the brilliant Roger DeCoster, Dungey has been a role model in how to be a solid moto citizen, an analytical, hard-working rider, and a true sportsman. Like Stanton and Villopoto, he was never flashy, knowing full well that style points don't count as championship points. Instead, he focused on the scoreboard in order to win races and titles.

Now Dungey turns the chapter and leaves his mark on the sport, just as RV did, just as Ricky Carmichael did, just as Jeremy McGrath did, and Stanton and all of those other greats before him. It was a pleasure to work with him at every level, be it as a journalist or a series promoter, and I will truly miss his steady presence at the race track, because we could always count on him.

Congratulations to Ryan Dungey on a job well done. Thank you for everything you did for our beloved sport. Enjoy whatever comes next, because it was well-earned.