JAMES "BUBBA" STEWART
| JAMES STEWART JR. aka Bubba, was born December 21 1985. He is a professional Motorcross Racer. He is the 1st African-American to have success at the very top levels of the sport of motorcross. He is known for his tenacity and speed. His father, James Sr., was a Motorcross enthusiast and introduced his son to the sport at a young age. Stewart entered his first motocross race when he was just four years old and soon went on to enjoy much success as an amateur racer. Winning multiple Amateur national titles all before the age of 16, James made a name for himself as one of the most promising future stars of the sport. LITES MOTORCROSS/SUPERCROSS CAREER (125cc) In fact, his pro debut for the 2002 racing season was one of the most anticipated debuts in the history of the sport. With outright blazing speed, he showed many flashes of brilliance as he competed in the AMA 125cc class. While crashes and rookie mistakes kept him from winning the 2002 125 West Supercross title, he went on to dominate the 2002 125 National Championship and was named the 2002 AMA rookie of the Year. With so much success so early in his career, it led Teen People Magazine to name him one of "20 Teens Who Will Change the World" in its April 2003 issue. Stewart went on to easily 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, ruining his championship hopes for that series. His 2004 season went as planned as he won both the 125 East Supercross title and the 125 Outdoor national title. PREMIER MOTORCROSS/SUPERCROSS CAREER (250cc/450cc) For 2005 he moved up to the premier 250cc/450cc class for both the Supercross series and the Outdoor National Motocross series. While Stewart immediately showed that he had the speed to race with the top riders in supercross, 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. James would go on to record many more victories throughout 2005 and 2006, and he eventually won the 2007 Supercross Championship. In 2008, he is currently undefeated through round 9 (Washougal) of the 12 round National Motocross series. The "Bubba Scrub" is a racing technique made popular by James Stewart in the 2003 supercross season. Instead of allowing the motorcycle to jump straight-foward on the faces of jumps, the racer approaches the jump at a very very slight angle, then flicks the handlebars in the opposite direction. The racer then flicks the handlebars back towards the original position, which creates a negative gravity, thus allowing the racer to land sooner accelerate sooner. His most noteable scrub was during practice at the 2005 Dallas Supercross, where he scrubbed so hard that he could not maneuver himself back onto the track in time, and landed off to the side of the track. Not to be confused with "pre-jumping" - where a racer projects himself over the crest of a jump by compressing his suspension into a breaking bump/whoop before hitting the actual face of the jump. This technique is commonly done in outdoor Motorcross races on ski jumps. "Scrubbing" is not common at outdoor Motocross races due to the choppy and rutted jumps/landing. And pre-jumping is never done at indoor Supercross races because the faces of the jumps are too steep and are smoothed out by the track crew between motos and practice sessions. |
| CHAMPIONSHIPS 2002 AMA 125cc MOTORCROSS NATIONAL CHAMPION 2003 AMA 125cc WEST SUPERCROSS CHAMPION 2004 AMA 125cc EAST SUPERCROSS CHAMPION 2004 AMA 125cc MOTORCROSS NATIONAL CHAMPION 2006 FIM WSXGP 250cc/450cc SUPER CROSS CHAMPION 2007 AMA 250cc/450cc SUPERCROSS CHAMPION 2008 AMA TOYOTA MOTOCROSS CHAMPION |