Kris Bunch is shown here riding Kevin Snyder’s Honda in qualifying for the Springfield TT in May of 2008. Bunch got a last-minute call from Kevin to race at Springfield after Kevin injured his knee, preventing him from riding the event. Bunch flew in from Fresno, Calif., and was fast from the word go. He did well in timed qualifying. In his Heat race he ran second until the final lap when he got out of shape and was passed by Chris Carr, Bryan Smith, and Nick Cummings. That pushed him back to fifth, missing the main event by a single position. He was less than a lap away from making his first Grand National, but despite not making the main a lot of people learned who Kris Bunch was that night because of his great performance on a borrowed race bike. Besides being a very fast racer Kris may also have a career as a hairdresser as evidence of this video.

Kris Bunch slides Kevin Snyder’s Honda in qualifying for the 2008 Springfield TT. Bunch missed making his first Grand National by a single position that night. (Larry Lawrence photo)