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Waiting for Bubba

Ever since James “Bubba” Stewart burst onto the professional racing scene in January of 2002, race-watchers have been waiting anxiously for the day he would make his bid to become the King of Supercross. Stewart had a Kawasaki factory contract before he had a driver’s license, and he became the youngest rider ever to win a 125cc Supercross when he won the San Diego support race exactly 21 days after his 16th birthday.

It’s easy for local newspaper reporters to talk about Stewart as the “Tiger Woods of Supercross,” but that has more to do with the color of his skin than anything else. Stewart shrugs off such comparisons, letting the local scribes off easy by dropping his, “We all look the same with our helmets on” line. Instead, the mainstream athlete Stewart more closely resembles is 20-year-old basketball phenom LeBron James. Bubba, like the NBA rookie, arrived on the scene surrounded by extraordinary hype. In the Florida-born rider’s case, he captured a record-shattering 11 AMA national titles at Loretta Lynn’s, the biggest amateur championship of all.

Stewart more than lived up to the hype in his first two years of 125 Supercross racing. He won 11 of the 18 main events he entered, numbers that rival those of a young Jeremy McGrath or Ricky Carmichael.

But it’s in the 125cc AMA/Chevy Trucks MX Nationals where Stewart has truly outclassed anyone in the history of the sport. So far, he has won 17 of the 19 races he has entered (including his last 15 in a row). In 2002, Stewart became the youngest national champion ever in AMA motocross history. Only a broken collarbone at the Las Vegas SX last May kept him from winning a second outdoor title-and possibly every moto of the 2003 series.

Going into the 2004 season, many were penciling-in Stewart, who turned 18 last December, as their series champion. When asked in a recent interview who he thought would win, former Suzuki racer Travis Pastrana didn’t even hesitate: “James Stewart. 1 think he’s already going faster than all of those guys, and he will be even faster on the 250. Once Bubba gets it figured out, forget about it.”

But last October, Stewart let the entire motocross world know that perhaps he hasn’t figured it out quite yet. Just before the $300,000 Maxxis U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Stewart announced he had decided to remain in the 125 class for the 2004

season.

“Do you hear that?” joked Scott

USA’s Bevo Forti, once dubbed the Czar of Motocross. “That’s the entire 250 class breathing a sigh of relief!”

Stewart’s decision immediately set off an online backlash against the rider. Many fans were expecting to see him challenge Carmichael and Chad Reed for the Supercross crown; others were hoping for better racing in the 125 class, as Stewart has been so dominant lately that almost every moto is a yawner. At any rate, by the time Stewart arrived in Las Vegas to watch the race, chat-room wags were calling him “sandbagger,” “cherry-picker” and worse. Understandably, the situation was starting to bother the teenager, leading him to speak his mind on his decision.

“I’m only two years into my Pro career,” he said in the lobby of the MGM Grand, where the U.S. Open was being held. “I have a long career to do this for the fans, so I’m just looking farther ahead. I had my season cut short when I crashed, and that really woke me up. I know a career can be short, and I’m still having fun in the 125 class. Kawasaki backs me and understands why I want to ride the 125 class in 2004.1 think it’s a good career move for me, and so do they.”

Stewart’s decision could certainly help Kawasaki on the one hand, but may hurt it on the other. With the 250cc four-stroke market booming and the company just having released its 125-legal KX250F, Stewart on the bike practically guarantees results and massive media coverage. (He was just named Rolling Stone ’s “Hot Athlete,” beating out rising tennis star Andy Roddick and aforementioned round-bailer James.) Unfortunately, Team Green has just one big-bike win since Carmichael left the squad two years ago. And with veteran Erza Lusk gone, the company will have only Australian Michael Byrne to battle the likes of Carmichael, Reed and a revitalized Kevin Windham.

“When Ricky is asked if he would do anything differently in his career, he answers that he wished he would have stayed on the 125 one year longer,” explains Stewart in defense of his decision. “And look at Pastrana-he got hurt when he went into the 250 class. If he would have been on the 125 another year, maybe things would have been a lot better for him.

“When I step up to the 250,1 want to win,” adds Stewart. “When I grow up, I want to win.” -Davey Coombs

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