Bob Dunlap has shown improvement over the past few years working his way up through the ranks of the Open-A class and finally worked his way into taking the class championship for the 2013 season. We caught up with Bob to talk about his 2013 season, plans for the future, and more.

GNCCRacing.com: How's it going today?
Bob Dunlap: Great! I just got home from work and had some chili and cornbread! Now I’m enjoying a little R&R, so I can’t complain!

Sounds pretty good to me! So, tell everyone a little about yourself.
Well, I’m 21 years old and I work full time as a laborer for Stonegate Construction. I enjoy riding and racing, of course, but I also like to hunt and fish and just have a good time with friends and family!

How did you get started riding?
I got started riding when I was 4, when my Dad bought me a Honda 50. I grew up riding around the house and with friends but I never raced until I was 15. I think the reason for not racing was that I was basically pretty terrible and we didn’t think that I would amount to anything on a dirt bike so we never went racing, and I just rode for fun (laughs)

And what brought you into the world of racing?
Well, we bought a 250F when I was 13 and I got better practically overnight because the bike really suited my style. I rode it for a year and a half and then one of my friends was telling me about a local motocross track that was going to have some hare scrambles the next season. So I asked my dad if we could do one and we did and that’s how it started. The first year we raced a few here and there and the following year an outlaw series started in the area, which is now known as the WEXCR series. I raced it and the closer to home GNCC’s for the next 3 years and 2011 was my first full year in the GNCC series in the Open A class. I finished 8^th the first year and had to have shoulder surgery last year, and now here we are!

So you had a pretty solid 2013 season. Tell us how it went.
It went really well, honestly. Basically after finishing 8^th the first year and having surgery the second year, I wasn’t even going to race the GNCC’s. I was planning on just racing the locals and a few nationals like we used to. I kept thinking about it though and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to race. I called my Dad and told him I thought I wanted to race and he said ok, and that he wanted me to because he thought I could do well. We decided to see where we were at summer break and if we weren’t in the top 5 then we would hang it up. I started off with a third and I just kept it rolling from there.

Did you expect to come away with the Open-A championship?
Honestly, no I didn’t. The years I rode it before it was so hard because there were so many good guys in there and really the top 10 could win at any time. This year, I got some help with some of the top guys moving to different classes. Also, I didn’t know how my shoulder was going to hold up and since I really didn’t ride any nationals since before summer break the year before, I knew my speed would be way off. But I started off in Florida with a third, which is way better than I’ve ever done there and I owe all of that to riding and staying with Braden Henthorn at our friend Billy Houpe’s house. Like I said before, the momentum started well and I just carried it from there.

Now that it's all over, how does the class championship feel?
It feels great! I mean, to think that I wasn’t even going to race this year and look what I accomplished. It’s definitely a dream come true, no doubt about it. Winning the championship made all the work during the year worth it. Like I said before, I have a full time job so I have to go to the gym in the evenings after work, and most of the seat time I got this year honestly was just on Sundays. There were lots of times I didn’t want to go to the gym at all because I was tired from work and my girlfriend would drag me down there and make me do something. Even if it wasn’t much, it was something and that helped out a lot having that extra push from someone else.

You also showed that consistency is key, don't you think?
Consistency is key, for sure. Anything can happen at any time and it did twice this year. I crashed out at Steele Creek and I had a mechanical at the big mud fest in Kentucky. So, I was in a small hole in points but as time went on I kept finishing well and that definitely paid off. Other than the two DNF’s, I didn’t finish worse than 4^th all year, which is something I’m pretty proud of because as the old saying goes, “You must first finish to finish first”!

What was the biggest highlight of the season for you?
The biggest highlight was obviously winning the championship and being consistent in doing so but there were some other things that I was proud of. The guy who finished second to me, Brady Myers, is one of my good friends and he lives ten minutes from me actually. We raced clean all year and had some awesome races together. I’m proud that I didn’t let my family and support group down since they took a chance on me by spending the time and money to take me racing when I wasn’t even wanting to after last year. Also, I was chosen to ride for Action Kawasaki at the Perry Mountain 24 Hour Challenge where we won the Open Expert class and placed 4^th overall. It was awesome to be a part of that team.

Do you have any plans for 2014 yet?
My plans are to race Open-A for one more year, because I had some good finishes in the overall but I don’t think I’m quite ready for XC2 and definitely not XC1. So, hopefully a full off season of riding and training, then racing in Open-A again will give me the extra speed and confidence I need to make the jump to the next level, whichever that may be.

What do you hope to accomplish in 2014?
I hope to obviously defend my championship while being even more consistent. I think we have a great bike in the KX450 and we know what we need out of them to be competitive. My biggest goal is to hopefully win top amateur at least once. I wanted to do it this year and came close a few times but Trevor Bollinger was just too fast, along with some other fellows from 250-A who are definitely no slouches.

 

 

What about beyond 2014? What do you hope to accomplish in years to come?
Right now I’m just taking it one year at a time, but in years to come I would like to be competitive at the XC2 and possibly the top level of GNCC. I’ve got great people and a great support group behind me and with hard work and determination, anything is possible!

Alright, before we wrap this up, who would you like to thank?
First off, I’d like to thank my Mom and Dad. They are the reason I got to the races this year and without them none of this would be possible, so I hope I make them proud. I want to thank my Mamaw and my cousin Mason for being there to support me no matter what. I could’ve the worst race in history and my grandma always says I did awesome. Next, I would like to thank Chelsea, my girlfriend and trainer. She whipped me into shape and stayed after me to get in the gym and eat healthy. Without her around, I definitely wouldn’t have had the results that I did if I wasn’t in good shape. I want to thank Doug Blackwell for kicking my butt at the local races and helping me so much on the mental side of things. We ride together almost every weekend at a race or anywhere and I always learn something from him. I want to thank DSD Kawasaki, Steve Burnside and Scott Dailey for bending over backwards for me this year. Thanks to my friends Braden Henthorn and Jason Enoch, as well as Justin Huber and Brock Wells for believing in me. Thanks to Billy Houpe for letting me stay at his house to ride in the “Torture Chamber” to get ready for the Florida round. Thanks to Thad and Chad Duvall for lighting a fire under my butt when I wasn’t riding very well. Also thanks to Brady Myers for keeping it clean and fun all season. Finally thanks to GNCC and WEXCR for two awesome series for me to race at. Thanks for the opportunity to be on Tuesday Toolbox as well and I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store!