James Stewart Jr. (born December 21, 1985), also known as Bubba Stewart, is an American former professional motocross racer who competed in the AMA Motocross Championship and the AMA Supercross Championships. Through his years of racing, he earned the nickname "The Fastest Man on The Planet".
Stewart is third in all time 450 Supercross wins (50), and second all time in AMA outdoor national wins (48). He also developed the "Bubba Scrub" or just "scrub", which became a fundamental skill needed to compete in motocross.
He was the first to host his own television show, Bubba's World. He brought in endorsement deals paying him over $10M a year throughout his career. He has the record for best rookie season, having won 10/12 Motocross races in 2002.
Stewart won the Motocross of Nations twice and the World Supercross title three times. Additionally, he won four AMA Supercross Champion titles and three AMA Motocross Champion titles. He won the Red Bull Straight Rhythm in both 2014 and 2015.
Career AMA Supercross/Motocross Results
Career
Amateur and Lites Class
Stewart was born in Bartow, Florida, and currently resides in Haines City, 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 prevented him from winning the 2002 125 West Supercross title, he did finish second 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.
One of two riders in history to have won every moto/race in season
Ranked #2 all time SX wins (50). Ranked #3 all time pro AMA wins (98). 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 (in his 3rd Supercross race), Stewart captured his 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.
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. 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).
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.