DOHA, QATAR (December 20, 2010) – Like any competitor, Rob Hunnicutt has often wondered what it would feel like to be the frontrunner and the person everyone else was chasing.
Now that it's happening, the Pro Extreme Motorcycle rider admits it feels quite amazing.
After winning for the first time in his American Drag Racing League (ADRL) and Arabian Drag Racing League career last week, Hunnicutt followed it up with his second straight win, taking Round Three at Qatar Racing Club (QRC) on Friday.
"I've never won this many round in probably five years of doing this," Hunnicutt said. "This is like a dream come true.
"It makes me speechless when I look at these two trophies. I'm almost in awe. It makes all the hard work and time and money worth it."
Hunnicutt is riding high after another memorable race, giving him two wins and one runner-up finish through three of the eight races in the Arabian Series in Qatar.
Not even the optimistic Hunnicutt could have imagined this scenario.
Nearly everything has gone right for the talented rider, but Round Three marked his best all-around performance to date.
He was the No. 1 qualifier with a 4.17 and then went 4.18 in the first round to knock off Billy Vose, whom Hunnicutt beat in the finals of Round Two.
In the semifinals, he got his re-match with Terry Schweigert, who won in Round One. This time, Hunnicutt couldn't be tracked down, as he went 4.16 to meet T.T. Jones in the finals, where he added another 4.16 to finish as the wire-to-wire winner and maintain his points lead in PXM.
"I'm really, really excited right now. Christmas came (Friday)," Hunnicutt said.
Hunnicutt will get a memorable welcome when he returns home to his family, but he already happily recalled the conversation he had with them after his first win.
"I wish they could have been here to see it, but I hear them screaming on the phone after I told them I won, and it just feels really good," Hunnicutt said. "This is how you envision it going when you start racing."
Hunnicutt won last week on his back-up motor, but as a sign that every decision has been on point, their team went back to their first motor for Round Three.
It broke on the very first pass in Qatar several weeks ago, but it yielded much quicker times than the back-up motor.
It also did that without Hunnicutt and his team pressing the combination.
"We weren't really pushing things with the motor," Hunnicutt said. "We knew this motor was faster."
Hunnicutt has also stepped up his game. He's been fast at the light and put together some incredible incrementals through three races.
He only hopes this momentum carries over when he returns to QRC for Rounds Four and Five in January.
Round Four begins on January 6 in Qatar.
"I told my wife if I just made the finals and lost every race I would be happy," Hunnicutt said. "Now, it's almost like a dream I don't want to wake up from.
"I really hope I have a shot at the title."
