East
Coast ATV's Jason Dunkleberger 1st AMA MX Pro
ATV Podium Finish
It’s the dream of just about every privateer
racer to be standing on the podium at least once
at a national event. This past weekend, #19 Jason
“Dunk” Dunkelberger lived that dream.
Jason claimed his first AMA ATV Motocross National
Pro Podium finish of his 5-year Pro career during
round 4 at Birch Creek, and it couldn’t
have come at a better time. “I
was so down last week,” said Jason in
regards to his double DNF in round 3 at Ballance
MotoX. “To comeback this round and beat
so many of these factory teams is such a good
feeling!” he said excitedly. Dunk’s
engine failed in the first lap of both Motos
at Ballance MotoX, which was incredibly frustrating
for him considering he had just placed in the
top 5 two weeks prior and was well on his way
to achieving his goal of being in the top 5
of the points race.
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| For
2008, Jason Dunkelberger made to switch
to East Coast ATV on a Honda TRX 450R
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| Jason
Dunkelberger Celebrates his 1st AMA Pro
ATV Podium Finish at Birch Creek |
This
weekend at Birch Creek, Dunk came flying off the
line in Moto number one and was running a respective
3rd as racers made their way into the first corner.
Dunk was holding his own closely behind Joe Byrd
and Dustin Wimmer, but it wasn’t long before
Doug Gust caught up to Dunk and began to put the
pressure on him. “I was up there with Byrd
and Wimmer and I had Gust right behind me. Fans
were standing along the track yelling and cheering
me on and I was so excited I was yelling right
back,” Dunk jubilantly recalled. Dunk ended
his day with a 3-8 finish that with the new scoring
system was good enough to earn him 3rd on the
Podium. All
though this weekend was Dunk’s first visit
to the ATV MX National Pro Podium, he is no
stranger to racing. Dunk first began racing
ATV motocross back in the late 90’s. He
raced his first National season in 2000 and
won the National 250 Pro-am Championship in
2001. Dunk decided to step it up and turned
Pro in 2003. When he was racing the 250A and
Pro-am class back in 2000, he caught the eye
of Lost Creek Cycles and rode for them until
the end of the 2007 season when their long-standing
relationship came to an end. With that split,
Dunk has had to endure a lot of changes this
year, but he continues to keep a positive outlook.
“When things ended with Lost Creek, I
didn’t want to just sit around and feel
sorry for myself, so I got out there and worked
hard,” stated Dunk, “I’m kind
of glad things happened the way they did because
now I have a really good thing going with East
Coast ATV.”
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| While
racing for Lost Creek Cycle, Jason Dunkelberger
raced on several different model ATVs,
and he raced on the Yamaha YFZ450 for
several years before switching to the
Suzuki LTR450 in 2006
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Sometimes
big transitions such as Dunk’s can be
a bit rough for racers, but Dunk has taken it
all in stride. “The transition has been
really good. I’ve got great support and
I’m training hard. I think that’s
a really good combination,” he said. In
addition to East Coast ATV, Dunk is also supported
by Rage ATV Racing, Maxxis, Rath Racing and
Fox Shocks, but he insists that his biggest
support comes from his family. “I couldn’t
do it without them,” he said matter-of-factly.
“My parents have always been there for
me and helped me out. They are at almost all
of the races to lend their support.”
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| Dunk's
Parents are at nearly every race, and
his father can typically be found helping
Dunk with wrench on his ATV in between
Motos |
In
addition to family, Dunk also gets a lot of moral
support from fans and is one of the most popular
racers at the track due in part to his outgoing
personality and enthusiasm. Perhaps it is the
good vibe that Dunk projects that has also brought
him the attention of some manufacturers.
Dunk
confirms that he has been speaking to manufacturers
about the ’09 season. “But I really
can’t say who because there isn’t
anything official yet,” he stated. For
now, Dunk still has a regular day job that helps
to pay for his racing expenses. “After
I race all day and get home from the track Sunday
nights, I have to go to work and bust my butt
Monday morning,” Dunk said with a laugh.
Jason’s
goal for this season is to finish somewhere
in the top 5 in the points race of the AMA ATV
Motocross Nationals, and if he is able to avoid
any major issues for the rest of the season,
it’s quite possible he could do just that,
which could also make his dream of having a
factory deal for ’09 come true.
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