Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128625
How did you get the nickname " Bubba"? James "Bubba " Stellllart B y STEVE C o x An old lady ca lle d me tha t when I was a kid and it j u st st uc k . J am es "Bubba " Stewart has filled the shoes va cated b y Ricky C armichael , when he m oved on to the pros , with devastating effecti ven ess. It wo u Id be h ard to 10 0 k t h ro u g h t h e results archive and find a rac e h e was in and d idn't w in within th e last cou ple of y ears. He ' s confi d en t. Why shouldn't he be? He 's the be st. He is to mini rac ing what Jeremy M cGra th is to Sup er c ross . The on ly difference is , Mc Gra t h has probably lost a higher percentage of his races . Ever since I wa s li ttle, arou nd fou r. S eem s li k e y o u've been setting your goals and sticking to them , Wh en 's y o ur last 80cc race? Pr oba b l y t h e M o tocross de s Na tion s. -- A::::::'• • • If:!1Fi::r.......A~M~~~~:;:1~'E,.....--=-- - - - ---.. . Oh, that's right, They have th e 80cc class there now, S o wh en do you plan on racing your first 125cc race? E nglisht ow n, New J ers ey , in O ctober. The K a w asaki Race of Champions. Bubba heads to Loretta Lynn 's th is Q Veg as , Nevada . Th is year, Bubba ha s You ' ve been in the spotlight a long t ime. You we re in that " T e r r a fi r m a" video a few years ago . Does being in t h e spotlight affect y ou at all? I sti l l take my ra cing t h e sa me wa y: rac e by race, ch am pi onship by c h am p io nsh ip , I m ean , it doesn't affect me. I d on 't t he op portu n ity , w ith two more wins, to let it g et to m y head, year having ama ssed sev en c h am p i onships th er e , m ultip l e G NC f inals championships , multiple W orld M in i c h am pi on shi p s, multiple F lo r ida state championships and , to t op it all o ff, a c ompletely dominating win in th e 85cc A c l ass at l ast y ear 's US Open i n La s become the winning est amat eur rider in Q H a s you r family been supportive? My m om help s m e train an d stu ff , and my da d w o rk s o n my bi k e s and gets m e to t he race s . They 're bo th behind me AMA history , ec l i p si n g Ca r m ic hael's mark o f 10 c hampionsh ips . He's on ly 14 y ears old . He i s a re lentles s motocross racer. He ne v er gives up. He always rides as hard as he can . You will A Many are predicting that James " B u b ba" Stewart will be the next Ricky Carmichael. see him at th e f ro nt o f the pack in Ten nessee. Bubba will turn 16 , and thusly be elig ible for AMA professional competition, in December o f 200 I . Th at m ean s, come Janu ary 2002 and th e openi ng o f th at y ea r' AMA Su ercross series , B u b ba sho u ld b e fly ing high . Everybody seems t o consla er h im a defin ite fu tu re st ar of motocross. If his pa st is any in di c ati on of his future , he won 't disappoint. Wh at i s i t like to I:le " p r e d e s t i n e d" for 1 10 p ercent. motocross and 5upercross superstardom? A ll's pretty cool, you k n o w, tha t people th in k t hat way; Hopefully , what t hey think [will happen] , w ill happen , Q How long have you wanted to be a motocross star? Ezra Lusk (12) chases down Craig Decker (15). Lusk won his first Loretta Lynn's title way back in 1986. Q A A r e there any professional racing goals that you have set for yourself already? Ho p efu ll Y, dom inating . Winning a whole bunch of c h am p ions hi p s . Hopefully , ('II win the East . C oast [125c c Sup ercross] c h ampi o ns h ip m y first yea r and th e outdoor 125 cc Nati on al Ch ampionship. While Jeff Emig put together one of the most prolific and storied careers in America n motocross history , he still has razor sharp memo ries of his days as an amateur at Loretta Lynn' s. In fact, during August of 1987 he moved up to the 125cc class and, once again, both literally and figurativ ely, crossed paths with minicycle arch-rival Damon Bradshaw. "I rode a 125 at Lorett a Lynn 's in 1987 because at the AMA Amat eur Nationals you were only allowed race an 80 until you were 15. So in 1987, I had to qualify for Loretta's on a 125 and that' s the first time I raced Damon Bradshaw on a 125: says Emig, taking a moment to reflect back on his min or league days. "I was really littl e and we raced in the 125cc class. Bradshaw had already been on a big bike. for a year and we ended up running one and two in our first 125 races together. While racing hard, we both got together over the infield jum p and hit the dirt hard. When I finally got to my feet, I had gasoline all over me and had cut me open. Right then we both realized something about each other and I remember think ing thi s about Bradshaw: 'I' m always going to be chasing you: I'm always going to be there." By 1989, both riders had turned professional. Bradshaw went on to experience a rather tumul tuous career, winning the 1989 AMA 125cc East Region Superc ross Series gathering a combined tot al of 29 A MA ca reer wi ns. Afte r ret iri ng from the sport during the fall of 1993 due to personal problems and a sever case of burn -out , Bradshaw returned to co mpetit ive co m petition in 199 5 before calling it quits for good follo wing the 1997 season. Emig , meanwhil e, went on to win the 1992 AMA 125cc National Champi on ship , t he 19 9 6 AMA 250 cc National Champio nship, and the 1997 AMA 250cc Supercross and National Champ ionsh ips. Wi th a co m bi n ed career AMA win total of 37, Emig currentl y stand s tied for seventh on the all-time win list with another Loretta's legend, Jeff Stanton. Banging bars: Jeff Emig (47) and Damon Bradshaw (51). cue I e n e _ S • AUGUST 9, 2000 27