VOLUME 56 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2019 P79
"Honestly, I didn't put too much thinking
into that," he said. "I did that last year, and I
suffered for it. I said, 'I've got to do ninth or
better' or whatever and, man, I was riding just
really lazy last year. I knew coming into this
year that's not what I wanted."
Stewart's plan worked and he stayed
within striking distance of Martinez until back-
ing off on the final lap to savor his second
hard-earned title. "I would say it's one of the
most mentally draining things to really go
through is to not only win a championship but
come back the next year a month later, start
and a hip at separate times—so to come out
here and get a second, I'll take it!"
Reigning champion Stewart came into the
Vikings race a comfortable 15 points ahead of
Bell and with one victory to his credit aboard
his Pro Circuit/Pro Honda Oils/Fly Racing
CRF450RX. Consistency has kept him atop
the points table since round two, as he's fin-
ished all but one round on the podium.
Fourth on the opening lap, he moved into
third to stay the second time around, more
than enough to clinch the championship—he
needed to finish fifth or better to do so.
Shane Logan had an excellent
weekend, winning the 250cc AA
race on Saturday and following that
with Sunday's Pro II victory—his
first for the class.
