AMA 1 25cc Western Regional Supercross Series
Round 5: Edison International Field
Stewart wins 1155 at Anaheim III; he won't let it happen again
old Floridian made few mistakes, as
he built his lead to an almost ridiculous 13.44 seconds just five laps into
the race. He would take the win by
21.509 seconds, lapping his way up
to seventh place after passing eighthplace finisher Team Boost Mobile
Yamaha's Joshua Hansen on the last
lap. It should be noted that the top
nine qualify for the main event.
But even with another decisive victory in the bag, Kawasaki's shooting
star paid tribute to seven fallen stars,
as he recognized the seven astronauts who had perished when the
NASA space shuttle Columbia
exploded upon re-entry into Earth's
atmosphere earlier in the day.
"It was kind of a sad night for me
and all Americans out there, with the
space shuttle Columbia crashing,"
Stewart said while addressing the
crowd on the podium after the race. "I
just want to dedicate this win to all
the [astronauts'] families out there."
As has become the norm in the
West this season, the best racing was
behind Stewart, and once again it
involved the guy who holds the number-one plate that Stewart is gunning
for, Team Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's
Travis Preston. Running 12th after the
22-rider field left the gate, the 24-
By SCOTT ROUSSEAU
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
ANAH~,CA,FEB.
1
he James Stewart Jr. freight train
showed no signs of slowing at
round five of the AMA 125cc Western
Regional Supercross Series at Edison
International Field. Before a sellout
crowd of 45,050, the Team Chevy
Trucks Kawasaki rider railed berms
and drove spikes into the competition's coffins as he continued toward
what now appears to be a certain
Western Region number-one plate.
"I'm just trying to go out there and
ride my own race, and here lately ... I
think it would have been the same
out here last year if I could have gotten good starts," Stewart said. "You
know, it's funny, last year I couldn't
even win a race out here."
There was nothing funny about his
run in the 15-lap main event. Stewart
lined up on the right side of the starting gate and trailed only Team Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki/Chevy Trucks' Eric
Sorby as the field broke up to negotiate the unique split-section start.
Stewart then shot past Sorby in the
second rhythm section and began to
pull away, his momentum gaining
steam with every lap. The 17 -year-
12
FEBRURY 12, 2003'
cue
I
e
n
e
_
s
