James Stewart Jr.
James Stewart Jr., also known as Bubba Stewart, is an American former professional motocross racer who competed in the AMA Motocross and the AMA Supercross Championships. Through his years of racing, he earned the nickname “The Fastest Man on The Planet”, due to his extraordinary talent, speed, athleticism and innovation.
In 2008 James won every race and every moto of the AMA Motocross season. The only other person to do this is Ricky Carmichael, who had perfect seasons in 2002 and 2004. James is second in all time 450 Supercross wins, and second all time in AMA outdoor national wins. He is also known for innovating the "Bubba Scrub" or just "scrub", which revolutionized the sport and became a fundamental skill needed to compete in Professional Motocross. He was the first to host his own television show "Bubba's World" which brought even more attention to the sport. He is arguably the most financially lucrative racer, bringing in endorsement deals paying him over $10M a year throughout his career. Known for his vibrant personality and big smile, James has been featured in news outlets like Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Maxim, ESPN The Magazine, GQ and many more. Additionally, Teen People named him one of “20 Teens Who Will Change the World”. He has the record for best rookie season, having won 10/12 Motocross races in 2002.
James has 5 FIM World Champion titles from Motocross of Nations, and World Supercross. 4 AMA Supercross Champion titles, and 3 AMA Motocross Champion titles. He won the Redbull Straight Rhythm in both 2014 and 2015. He's a Motocross legend who battled the greats of multiple era's.
Career
Amateur and Lites Class
Stewart was born in Bartow, Florida and currently resides in Haine City Lake Hamilton, Florida. 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.Having 84 amateur wins and 7 Loretta Lynn's Amateur Championships all before the age of 16, he debuted as pro in 2002. While crashes and rookie mistakes kept him from winning the 2002 125 West Supercross title, he finished 2nd overall. He went on to dominate the 2002 Motocross Championship, and was named the 2002 AMA Rookie of the Year. 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 and the 125 East/West Shootout in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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.
1 of 2 riders in history to win every moto/race in season
Ranked #2 all time SX wins. Ranked #3 all time pro AMA wins. X games medal for best whip. 2002 AMA 125 Motocross national champion. 2003 AMA 125 West Supercross Champion. 2004 AMA 125 East Supercross Champion. 2004 AMA 125 Motocross National Champion. 2006 FIM World Supercross Grand Prix Champion. 2006 Motocross of Nations Champion. 2007 AMA Supercross Champion. 2007 FIM World Supercross Grand Prix Champion. 2008 AMA Motocross National Champion. 2008 Motocross of Nations Champion. 2009 AMA Supercross Champion. 2009 FIM World Supercross Champion. 2014 Redbull Straight Rhythm Champion. 2015 Redbull Straight Rhythm Champion
Supercross
On April 2, 2005, at Texas Stadium, Stewart captured his very first 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.| Year | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 | Rnd 7 | Rnd 8 | Rnd 9 | Rnd 10 | Rnd 11 | Rnd 12 | Rnd 13 | Rnd 14 | Rnd 15 | Rnd 16 | Average Finish | Podium Percent | Place |
| 2006 SX | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3.25 | 75% | 2nd |
| 2007 SX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.38 | 94% | 1st |
2008
Stewart missed the last 15 races of the 2008 Supercross season due to a knee injury caused by a crash into Dale White #7.2009
Stewart signed with L&M Yamaha racing for the 2009 season, replacing Chad Reed for the supercross season. In the latter season Stewart and Chad Reed were involved in the tightest points race of Stewart's 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.| Year | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 | Rnd 7 | Rnd 8 | Rnd 9 | Rnd 10 | Rnd 11 | Rnd 12 | Rnd 13 | Rnd 14 | Rnd 15 | Rnd 16 | Rnd 17 | Average Finish | Podium Percent | Place |
| 2009 SX | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4.53 | 88% | 1st |
2010
After a strong charge by Supercross class rookie Ryan Dungey at the opening round at Anaheim, Stewart captured the lead on lap 18, going on to take the win. In round 2, Stewart was involved in a crash during his heat, but came back to win the Last Chance Qualifier. In the final, a collision with Chad 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 a physically aggressive manner. Controversy followed in the pits when Stewart pushed Reed's bike off its stand, resulting in an official warning from the AMA. Still struggling with injury Stewart finished 3rd behind Ryan Dungey and Josh Hill in round 3. Stewart retired from the season after having surgery from Dr. Arthur Ting for a broken right scaphoid.Stewart's wrist injury took longer than expected to heal, leaving him out of the 2010 Motocross series, although he did return for one round at Unadilla where he placed third in the first moto and retired early from the second moto, citing bike setup issues and exhaustion.
2011
On January 8, 2011 Stewart made his return to Supercross placing 3rd in the Anaheim season opener. The next week at Phoenix on January 15, he won his first main event in over a year, leading all 20 laps over Ryan Villopoto, who trailed close behind for most of the race. Throughout the season Stewart suffered several crashes with his last big crash in the season finale at Las Vegas where he had the lead but then crashed in the whoops. He took out Kevin Windham along with him, allowing Villopoto and Reed to pass2012
On March 10, 2012 Stewart claimed his 44th Supercross win by taking 1st place at Daytona International Speedway. At the end of the season, Stewart left Joe Gibbs Motocross Racing.2013
On January 5, 2013, after an unsuccessful finish of the 2012 AMA Motocross Series, Stewart made his return to Supercross with his new Yoshimura Suzuki bike. Although having a sore right knee and in pain, he finishes 8th in the Main Event at the Anaheim season opener. He got back up in Atlanta winning the main event, leading all 20 laps. Throughout the season, Stewart had several crashes, including at the Metrodome, in Minneapolis, where he had the lead in the Heat Race, but crashed in the rhythm section near the Mechanics Area. He did come back with a win in the LCQ. In the Main Event, Stewart was injured again, this time tweaking his wrist and retired on Lap 7. Consequently, Stewart was out for the remainder of the three rounds of the 2013 AMA Supercross Series.On October 19, 2013 Stewart raced the Monster Energy Cup for the first time at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. Having a bad start in the first heat, he fought up to 8th. In the second heat he took the holeshot and was battling hard with Villopoto, beating Villopoto due to a hard crash on the Last Lap after missing the Joker Lane. In the third heat, James fought hard past Ken Roczen and took the 3rd moto win. On the Final Lap, Stewart took the Joker Lane twice on second and third Motos, before crossing the finish line. He won the overall and the $100,000 payout
2014
Coming off an overall win in the Monster Energy Cup, Stewart was now a title threat for the 2014 Supercross Championship. On January 4, 2014 at Angel Stadium at A1 Stewart starts mid pack and works his way up to the leader Ken Roczen. With only 5 laps to go, he has a big crash in the whoops. He would finish seventeenth. At San Diego on February 8, he won his first main event for 2014 and went on to win 5 more main events, including a win in Toronto to pass Ricky Carmichael for second in all-time wins in Supercross. Stewart made the podium 8 times and finished the season in 3rd place.2015
Stewart was suspended for 16 months for failing an anti-doping test. Stewart, who is medically prescribed Adderall, failed to submit the proper paperwork for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Stewart missed the entire 2015 Supercross season and the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series.Following his suspension, Stewart returned to race the single-day Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas, NV. After a crash in the first of three rounds however, Stewart did not start the following motos.
2016
Stewart returned for Anaheim 1 at the start of the 2016 Supercross season. However, in the main event a first lap mishap by Ryan Dungey caused Stewart to crash. Stewart was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion. Stewart did not return to racing after this injury, and an official retirement would later be announced.2019
May 17 2019 James Stewart announced his retirement saying “Where I’m at in my life, I think it’s time to say I’m retiring. I’ve retired,” he said in part. “It’s hard for sure, because I love racing and I love the fans, I love the opening ceremonies, I love the autograph lines, but I don’t miss the sweat and tears and training and having to feel like you have to win every race and having to be James Stewart. I don’t love doing that anymore.”Motocross class
2005
AMA 250 class 10th overall2006
AMA 4th overall2007
AMA 7th overall2008
Having missed the entire Supercross season, he returned to racing at the first round of the outdoor nationals and went on to win all 24 motos and thus the championship.| Year | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 | Rnd 7 | Rnd 8 | Rnd 9 | Rnd 10 | Rnd 11 | Rnd 12 | Average Finish | Podium Percent | Place |
| 2008 MX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 100% | 1st |
2009
Stewart did not compete in the 2009 Motocross series.2010
A wrist injury sustained in the Supercross season prevented Stewart from competing in the 2010 Motocross series although he did return for one round at Unadilla where he placed second in the first moto and retired early from the second moto, citing bike setup issues and exhaustion.2011
Stewart chose not to race the 2011 National season citing lack of preparation.2012
One day after announcing his split from JGRMX and Yamaha, Stewart signed to ride with Yoshimura Suzuki aboard their RMZ-450. Stewart won the first four motos of the season. However, during Round 3 of Thunder Valley in Colorado, Stewart was leading when a person ran across the track in front of him, causing him to crash. The result of the crash was a serious injury is his right hand breaking his wrist. Consequently, he was unable to finish the rest of the Motocross series due to the extent of the injury. Though he did come back at some point in Red Bud, but due to multiple injuries, Stewart will not race for the rest of the 2012 AMA Motocross Series until he gets 100% healthy.2013
The 2013 Season was a three-way battle with Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey. Chad Reed was thought to be the main show for the title, even though he struggled to ride hard and pass for the lead. Throughout the season, Stewart had several crashes including Motocross 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, where he had the lead halfway through, but crashed in the sand section in Moto 1 ending up finishing in 34th place. He did come back to finish 4th in Moto 2 making him 5th place overall. Stewart struggles to ride hard, riding though a neck injury.-
Total career AMA wins
- 28 wins in 125/250 AMA Motocross 10-2002 7-2003 11-2004
- 50 wins in 450 AMA Supercross 3-2005 8-2006 13-2007 1-2008 11-2009 1-2010 5-2011 2-2012 1-2013 5-2014
- 20 wins in 250/450 AMA Motocross 3-2006 1-2007 12-2008 2-2012 1-2013 1-2014
- 98 total AMA wins 10-2002 7-2003 11-2004 3-2005 11-2006 14-2007 13-2008 11-2009 1-2010 5-2011 4-2012 2-2013 5-2014
X Games
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.