Tuesday Toolbox: Thad DuVall

"Bad" Thad Duvall has had a rough two years. That all changed this weekend at the Pirelli Big Buck GNCC with a thrilling, down to wire race that put DuVall on the podium. DuVall was close to hanging it up after mechanical problems in North Carolina, but after spending a week at home, decided to dig in and keep trying. Is this a new Thad Duvall? Check out Tuesday Toolbox to find out.

Hey "Bad Thad" how are you doing today? I'm fine actually. I'm pretty good.

Has the thrill of getting up on the podium sunk in yet? Yeah, it was awesome. That was a big improvement for me. I was kind of disappointed, though. I thought that I should have won that race. I made some mistakes that threw me off a little bit. But getting second was awesome.

How long has it been since you were on the podium? It's been 2 years. The last time I was on the podium was in Indiana two years ago.

 

Take me through your race at Big Buck, you had a heck of a battle on your hands with Josh Strang.
It was pretty good. I know Josh pretty well and I knew he wasn't going to try to take me out and he knew I wouldn't try to take him out either. It was a nice battle. I learned a lot from Josh and I have a lot of respect for him. He's the top guy right now and riding with him gave me a lot of confidence. I just wish I could have stopped his streak!  That would have been really nice.

After charging through the race, you really started to hold off after Strang got around you.  Why did you decide to let up a little bit? Were you just playing safe?
You know, when he got around me, I really wanted to stay with him. I knew I had the speed to stay with him, but the dust was kind of bad. I decided to back off and try to put in a last lap charge. Around the 6^th or 7^th mile marker, Josh clipped a rock and it hit my goggles, and knocked the lens out of my goggles. If I didn't have goggles on, I'd be hurting. I decided to slow it down before I crashed my brains out. Mom and Dad were writing, "Second is awesome," on my pit board so I just took my time to get to the finish. Second was awesome.

I just want to know, after a rough 2009 and beginning to the 2010 season, what was going through your head that last lap. Did you think you were going to get up on the podium? You know, after last year and the beginning of this year I just thought, "Do I really want this?" A lot of people say I'm not putting 110 percent into this, and I wanted to prove people wrong. When I got up front I said it was going to be my day. I never really thought about being on the podium until I got to the finish, because with my luck, something could happen a mile away from the finish. I should have been there a lot last year and the beginning of this year. I've done a lot of maturing since then though.

What do you think made you mature? I got a lot of time at Randy's by myself. Mom and dad sent me down there a lot, and they told me I need to mature a little bit if I wanted to make a career of it. I'm 20 and I realized this is what I really want to do. I've been working really hard and I think it really showed at South Carolina.

It did for sure. I talked to your dad during the race, and he told said that if anyone out there saw that "monkey" on your back to beat him off? What do you think is that "monkey on your back"? I don't know! I really don't know. Last year it was just a crazy year, and if it was going to happen, it was going to happen to me. I think we just got the monkey off my back before the season started but I made a mistake in Florida, but I got 5^th. I had a crash in Georgia, and in North Carolina, I had bike problems. I really think we got it off but I just hadn't been able to put it together until this race.

I talked to you after Steele Creek, and you seemed pretty upset that you weren't going to finish the race. How were you feeling the three weeks coming into Big Buck. It seemed like we saw a dramatic change. After North Carolina, I was ready to give up. I've been living at Randys since two weeks after Christmas. After that race, I packed up and came home to my friends and family. All my friends helped me out a lot, told me that I have the speed, and that I just need to put it together. I was at Randy's the last two weeks before the race, and I tried some different stuff, improved the bike, and worked on it a little bit. Now, I just want to keep that ball rolling. I think I deserve to be on the podium every week. I just want to be there every week.

Is this a new mindset we're going to see this season? Yeah, this is definitely what I want to do. I want to make it. I know there are a lot of people saying I shouldn't have the ride I have. I want to prove people wrong. Getting on the podium was a huge confidence boost. I don't want to leave the podium ever again.

The Am-Pro team has transitioned since last year, with Paul Whibley on the team, and Charlie Mullins under the tent. Has that helped at all? We all get along really well. Charlie raced for the team a couple years ago when I was on it. Charlie lives in North Carolina, so he doesn't get to ride with us much. I've matured a lot because of Paul. I just watch him, and I've learned a lot from him. I hope he's not mad that I beat him in South Carolina! When we ride together, he's fun. He tells me what to work on and it helps me out a bunch. Randy knew we'd get along really well when he put the team together. The entire team rode really well in South Carolina. I think Randy has a pretty good team going right now.

Well congratulations on your race. We'll see you soon!
Thanks, Rachel!