signed a Supercross-only contract with Larry Brooks'
L&M Yamaha team, and Brooks made things worse.
Brooks seems to thrive on negative energy, and he
would feed this negativity to Stewart and his family.
Stewart was honest when he said that he was angry
about his teammate Kyle Chisholm getting in Chad
Reed's way at the 2009 Salt Lake City Supercross.
A source very close to the situation later informed
me that Brooks had actually offered Chisholm a sub-
stantial bonus if he were to disrupt Reed. Last I heard
(which was less than a year later, in 2010), Chisholm
never actually collected on that bonus. Instead, I was
told he was let go from the team as Brooks chose to
distance himself from the situation he created.
It's hard to imagine that Stewart's internal struggle
didn't play a part in his struggle on the Yamaha he
raced for Brooks and JGR, but the factory Suzuki RM-
Z450 has been universally beloved by everyone who
has raced it since at least 2009. Chad Reed loved
the bike so much that he chose to race outdoors for
free in 2009. He won that title. Reed's 2009 team-
mate Mike Alessi still races the Suzuki today because
of how much he loved the factory bike.
Even though it seems like he's been around forever,
Stewart is only 28 years old, and he's finding his hap-
piness again. He has the right people around him, and
he's on a bike that he really loves – although he has
had to figure out some settings and has had to work
through some weird mechanical failures and bad luck
(such as his head pipe getting smashed off the start
in Daytona, more or less knocking him out of this title
chase).
Even though "common sense" says that the fast-
est guy wins the championships – especially if it's
three years in a row – the reality is that Stewart was
always the fastest man on the planet; it's just that he
had outside things working against him. He's finding
his happiness from within by enjoying the process,
the competition, and being at the races. Even though
a large contingent of people (myself included) per-
ceived and believed he was no longer the fastest man
on the planet, the Toronto Supercross proved that he
still was and is.
Regardless of whether Stewart ever wins another
championship, he has overcome more than any racer
I can think of simply because of the circumstances of
his birth, and despite that there is no racer he can't
beat heads-up, and there is no race he can't win.
James Stewart truly is motocross's "Fastest Man
On The Planet." CN
VOL. 51 ISSUE 12 MARCH 25, 2014 P117
LOOKING BACK
40 Years Ago
April 2, 1974
Oh no, it was our April Fool's issue 40
years ago, so who knows what was real
in that issue, but we do know that Russ
Darnell was featured on the cover test-
ing our CR400 Husky motocrosser… We
also tested the "cheap and fast" (not to
mention scary) Suzuki TM400… We
covered the Great Bear Grand Prix at
Riverside Raceway with 1600 racers competing.
30 Years Ago
April 4, 1984
Photographer Patrick Behar captured
David Bailey and Johnny O'Mara, who
were pictured on the cover, in action at
the Paris Supercross… We covered the
Houston Supercross, where David Bai-
ley claimed the win over Ron Lechien…
Scott and Kurt Pfieffer combined riding
skills to win the San Felipe 250… Terry
Vance won the NHRA round at Gaines-
ville.
20 Years Ago
March 30, 1994
First-turn action from the Indianapolis Su-
percross was featured on the cover 20
years ago. Jeremy McGrath went on to
win. Ezra Lusk won the 125cc class…
Fred Andrews emerged victorious after
a battle with Scott Summers and Ty Da-
vis at the Sumter GNCC… Greg Zitter-
kopf won the Vacation Village Best in the
Desert Hare & Hound.
10 Years Ago
March 31, 2004
Our Middleweight Sportbike Shootout
was featured on the cover 10 years ago.
Which bike won? The Suzuki GSX-R
600… We covered the opening round of
the World MX GP Championship in Bel-
gium Cedric Melotte won MX1 and Ben
Townley MX2… Indiana's Mike LaRoc-
co won his home Supercross for the first
time… Ryan Villopoto was the…kid…at
the Texas Spring Classic at Lake Whitney.
Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News
Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives
