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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | James Stewart Jr. |
| Nickname(s) | "Bubba" |
| Nationality | |
| Date of birth | December 21, 1985 |
| Place of birth | Florida |
| Height | 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m)[1] |
| Weight | 160 pounds (73 kg)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport(s) | Motocross |
| Event(s) | Supercross |
| Sponsors | |
| Current | Yamaha, L&M, Answer, Alpinestars, Oakley, Bell Helmets, Nike 6.0, Red Bull |
| Non-industry | San Manuel |
| Former | Kawasaki |
| Achievements and titles | |
| World finals | 2006 FIM World Supercross Grand Prix Champion 2007 FIM World Supercross Grand Prix Champion |
| National finals | 2002 AMA 125 Motocross National Champion 2004 AMA 125 Motocross National Champion |
| Regional finals | 2003 AMA 125 West Supercross Champion 2004 AMA 125 East Supercross Champion |
| X Games | Silver medal in Best Whip at X Games 15 |
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James Stewart Jr., known as James "Bubba" Stewart (born December 21, 1985) is an American professional motocross racer competing in supercross. He is known for being the first African-American to have success at the very top level of any major motorsports association.
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Stewart was born in Bartow, Florida[1] and currently resides in Haines City, Florida.[2] His father, James Sr., was a motocross enthusiast and introduced his son to the sport at the age of three. Stewart entered his first motocross race when he was four years old.[3]
Winning multiple Amateur national titles all before the age of 16, he debut as pro in 2002. While crashes and rookie mistakes kept him from winning the 2002 125 West Supercross title, he went on to dominate the 2002 125cc national championship and was named the 2002 AMA Rookie of the Year.[3] He was also named one of "20 Teens Who Will Change the World" in the April 2003 issue of Teen People magazine.
Stewart went on to win the 2003 125 West Supercross Championship but suffered a severe crash at the season ending 125 East/West Shootout in Las Vegas, Nevada. With his collarbone broken in two places as a result of the crash, he was forced to sit out the first few rounds of the 2003 AMA Motocross series, losing the hope to win the championship, although he won every single race he competed in after coming back from that injury.
In 2004 he won both the 125 East Supercross title and the 125 Outdoor national title, only losing one moto to Mike Brown in the latter due to a broken clutch cover.
For 2005 he moved up to the premier 450cc class for both the Supercross series and the Outdoor National Motocross series. A practice crash that resulted in a broken wrist at Round 2 in Phoenix meant that he would have to wait before he notched his first career supercross win.
On April 2, 2005, at Texas Stadium (in only his 3rd race), Stewart captured his very first career Supercross victory. He would go on to record many more victories throughout 2005 and 2006, and he eventually won the 2007 Supercross Championship. He was unable to finish the 2007 National series due to a knee injury.
He was unable to compete in the 2008 supercross season as he decided to take time off and have surgery to properly fix his knee. He returned to racing at the first round of the outdoor nationals and went on to win all 24 motos. He signed with L&M racing for the 2009 season to replace Chad Reed for the supercross season.
In the latter season Stewart & Chad Reed were involved in the tightest (and sometimes heated) points race of his career. Stewart won 11 of the 17 events. On May 2, 2009, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Stewart won the 2009 Supercross Championship by a margin of 4 points over Reed (377-373).
Round 1 - Anaheim - January 9, 2010:
Supercross class rookie Ryan Dungey took the holeshot over Ryan Villopoto and Stewart respectively. Stewart trailed Dungey for 17 laps (at one point trailing him by 4 seconds).[4] This was Stewart's seventh win at Angel Stadium and the 37th of his career.
Round 2 - Phoenix - January 16, 2010:
In the second heat race Stewart was buried toward the rear of the pack when he was involved in a huge crash upon landing a triple jump and failed to finish. He recovered to win the Last Chance Qualifier to land him a place in the final, unfortunately with a poor gate pick.
In the final, Stewart found himself buried toward the back alongside rival Chad Reed. Reed followed Stewart throughout the early part of the race until Reed passed Stewart on lap five,a collision with Reed caused both riders to fall. Reed's left hand was pinned under Stewart and Reed pushed Stewart's head off his arm in what some deemed to be physically aggressive. Stewart went home in 15th with the win going to Ryan Dungey.[5]
Controversy followed in the pits with Stewart pushing Reed's bike off its stand. Reed was not fined by the AMA for his actions with Stewart being officially warned.
Round 3 - Anaheim II - January 23, 2010:
Still injured from Round 2, Stewart finished second to Josh Hill in his heat race. In the final, Stewart passed holeshotter Austin Stroupe and took the lead holding out Hill, Stroupe and Dungey until the sixth lap when Hill took the lead with a pass in the whoops. Hill led for the next eight laps with Stewart close behind. While Hill and Stewart were battling it out, Dungey started to close in on them and made a move at the midway point of the race passing Stewart for second on lap 12 and then Hill on lap 14. Once in the lead, Dungey pulled away, with Stewart finishing 3rd.[6]
Round 4 - San Francisco - January 30, 2010:
Stewart is out, after having surgery from Dr. Arthur Ting for a broken right scaphoid.[7]
Stewart made his X Games debut on July 30, 2009 at X Games XV, and placed second in the best whip competition with 21% of the votes winning his first X Games medal.[8]
He suffered a deep bruise to his bone and muscle in his left shoulder during seeding trials for SuperMoto on July 31, forcing him to drop out of the games.[9]
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