After five years of retirement, itch to race lures Ryan Dungey back

With 46 wins and 91 podium finishes — the third- and second-most in Pro Motocross history, respectively — Belle Plaine native Ryan Dungey had nothing left to prove in the sport when he retired in 2017 at age 27.

He and his wife, Lindsay, returned to Minnesota from Florida where he had been training as a pro rider. They eventually had two children — daughter Harper, 3, and son Banks, who is now 5 months old. Dungey started a foundation and a company.

But somewhere along the way, he also started getting an itch to compete again — something Dungey talked about on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast.

"For a couple years once I retired and we had kids things settled down. Then I was energized to do it again. I sought out opportunities but nothing came about. This year I happened to be doing some testing and an opportunity opened up," said Dungey, who unretired earlier this year and is competing in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series. "For me, I still had the excitement to do it. It had been a while."

Dungey did some riding during his official retirement, but he acknowledges that returning to the track five years later at age 32 is not without its challenges.

"The speed is there, but it's the endurance part. Being able to get to that next level. Over five years, I was training, working out and doing stuff, but that high-end intensity … it's physically demanding," said Dungey, currently in fifth place in the championship standings. "It's been 5-6 years and I have to let it come. The good thing is every single weekend it's getting better. The toughest point is the body getting back to that high level where everyone else is at."

Dungey has yet to have a podium finish since his comeback, but this weekend should present a good and unique opportunity. He is racing Saturday at the Spring Creek Nationals in Millville, Minn., a place he considers his home track.

"I'm excited. Every year we get to come here it's special. It's the hometown track but honestly it's one of the best tracks on the circuit," Dungey said. "The fans and just the friends and family are going to come out and be super supportive. Everyone has been awesome. I'll try to put on a good performance, have some fun and see what we can do."