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AMA Chevrolet l2Scc Championship Motocross Series Leading the Charge By PAT SCHunE PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN e y surrounded the Douglas firs, packed the hillsides north to south , stood side by side along every square foot of fencing lining the Washougal motocross track - pretty much every one of them coming to witness the phenomenon in our sport known simplyas "Bubba." And the soon-to-be-named "King of the AMA Chevrolet U.S. Motocross Championship's 12Sccclass" did not disappoint. In fact, he began the celebration of his I-I day before the finish flageven flew, high-fiYing fans packed tightly around the course as he new by sideways in the air. "The people that were out here started T leaning over the fence and stuff," Stewart said, "so I decided to stick my hand out a couple times and give them high-fives as I was going down the stra ightaway." And boy, did the Washougal faithful eat it up! And boy, did Stewart kick everybody's butt again on Sunday. "Honestly, I could not believe how loud it was here," said Stewart. "It was ridiculous. I want [to say] that I appreciate all the fans out here." Stewart's win was his third straight at Washougal and his seventh win on the year. He ties Mark Barnett for the most wins ever at Washougal and pulls to within one victory of Barnett for the overall 12Scc win record - trailing Ricky Carmichael by just two 125cc wins . Stewart's Factory KX I25cc was also on top of the 12Scc podium at Washougal for James Stewart mows 'em down again at Washougal the fourth year in a row. As in a number of previous Nationals this year, the I25cc class again provided the day's best racing, with another rider on the podium for the first time this year - Kawasaki's Paul Carpenter, who took third - and Suzuki's Broc Helper back on the podium after a couple of tough breaks at Troy and Unadilla. Fans of the 12Scc class have, at the very least , enjoyed the most variety out of both classes by far. In moto one, Carpenter taped the throttle on his Kawasaki KX250F and walked away with the holeshot on the short, uphill Washougal start. Local Washougal native Ryan Huffman got a good start and rode in second for a while, before suffering bike problems. Some new faces up front early, all aboard fourstrokes, railed the first tum in pursuit of Carpenter and Hepler, including: Yamaha of Troy 's Josh Hansen, Factory Connection/Honda's Chris Gosselaar, WBRlO'Neal/Pro Ci uit Kawasaki's Troy Adams, and visitingJapanese National star Akira Narita, riding for the Saki Racing/Honda team. The lead pack began to distance itself from the rest of the field, but not before Stewart charged from ninth to second in just under three laps. With Carpenter holding on to the lead until the fifth lap, Stewart set up and passed his teammate leaving Carpenter to fend off a host of charging riders . "I got a great start in that first moto and held on as best I could," Carpenter said. "I made a couple mistakes but was also able to make up for them. I have some more experience at this track