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James Stewart Jr.: the Tiger Woods of Championship Supercross Motorcycle Racing
from: Maxx Sports GuidesJames Stewart Jr., widely known as James "Bubba" Stewart, is a professional champion motocross racer. He's known for his tenacity and speed as well as being the first African-American to have success at the very top levels of the sport of motocross.
Stewart is often referred to as the "Tiger Woods of Supercross" -- a more recent nickname that has replaced his old childhood nickname of "Bubba."
His father, James Sr., a motocross enthusiast, 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.
Lites Motocross/Supercross Career (125cc)
James won multiple Amateur national titles all before the age of 16, making a name for himself as one of the sport's most promising future stars. 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 125cc 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 to name him one of "20 Teens Who Will Change the World" in its April 2003 issue.
Stewart went on easily 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, 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 Motocross/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.
Like fellow motocross legend, Ricky Carmichael, Stewart has mentioned that he might like to attempt driving in NASCAR after his two wheel career is over.
Bubba Scrub
The "Bubba Scrub" is a racing technique made popular by James Stewart in the 2003 Supercross season. Instead of allowing the motorcycle to jump straightforward on the faces of jumps, the racer approaches the jump at a very slight angle, and then flicks the handlebars in the opposite direction.
The racer then flicks the handlebars back towards the original position, creating a negative gravity, thus allowing the racer to land sooner. His most notable 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.
This 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 Motocross races on ski jumps. "Scrubbing" isn't 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.
More information on James Stewart can be found by visiting his official website at www.jamesstewartonline.com. You can also subscribe to the free James Stewart newsletter, which will help to keep you up-to-date on the Supercross motorcycle rider.
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