Buchanan, MI - July 06, 2004
By Steve Cox

The reign of James “Bubba” Stewart over the 125cc class at the AMA/Chevrolet 125cc National Motocross Series has been postponed. On Independence Day at Buchanan, Michigan’s Red Bud Track and Trail, Stewart dominated moto one, only to suffer a myriad of problems in moto two before dropping out of the race.

It looked like it would be Yamaha of Troy’s Mike Brown with the holeshot, but Team Honda’s Nathan Ramsey dived underneath the former 125cc National Champion to take the lead, only for Brown to retake it right away.

“I start in first gear now instead of second gear, and I feel like that gets me a better jump off the gate instead of feeling like I can’t get a jump,” Brown said about some gearing changes to his YZ250F. “Now, I get a good jump right off the gate and get my arms in front of everybody, but before I was just rolling off the gate when I took off. That was the main thing this weekend.”

Brown did his best to gap the field as Stewart moved through the pack, and he succeeded in putting a little over five seconds on Ramsey before Stewart moved pass into second. In one lap, Stewart went from more than five seconds behind to right on Brown’s tail in one lap, and the following lap, he made the pass for the lead. From there, he sped off with the moto-one victory 25 seconds in front of Brown.

Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ivan Tedesco, Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps and Ramsey rounded out the top five.

Yet another Honda grabbed the moto-two holeshot, only this time it was Amsoil/Chaparral Honda’s Josh Grant with the lead, followed closely by his teammate Ryan Mills and Brown. Stewart got up from a first-turn pileup that included Tedesco and MotoworldRacing.com Suzuki’s Daryl Hurley, and he went on a tear. Before the first lap was completed, Stewart sat 27th after getting up 38th. On the next go around, though, Stewart fell again. After picking himself off of the ground a second time, he charged through the field and got as high as 19th before he fell a third time and pulled off with clutch problems.

Meanwhile, Brown worked on the Honda duo up front.

“The second moto, I got behind those two guys, Grant and Mills, and I thought, ‘Man, I’m hanging out way too long, and I’ve got to get around them before Stewart gets up to me,’” Brown said. “I didn’t see him and didn’t see him, and I thought, ‘Man, I hope I have something left to battle with him. And then three or four laps from the end, they said he pulled off, and that was a big relief. I slowed down a little bit and tried not to crash.”

Brown took the second-moto win and the overall, while Grant held on for second and Suzuki’s Broc Hepler – who fell in the first turn in moto one – grabbed a close third. Millsaps and Ramsey rounded out the top five again.

“I’ve been saying all through my amateur days, ‘I get great starts. Great starts!’” Millsaps, whose 4-4 was good enough to earn him his first podium in second overall, said. “Then I move to the pros and I get dead last. Come this weekend, I got a great start in my heat race, and in the main event I got good starts. I was next to Josh in the last moto, and I followed him around and came out fifth, rode my own race, went down twice.”

Grant’s second-moto runner-up finish, combined with his first-moto eighth, earned him third overall, and the first podium of his career.

“When I felt that pressure from Brownie, I just didn’t want to make a mistake,” Grant said. “That’s what happened at Hangtown. But other than that, everything else was good.”

Brown was upbeat about his first win this year, and stopping – even if temporarily – the Stewart freight train.

“ I won the overall, but Stewart had a bad day, had a bad second moto, and I took advantage of it,” Brown said. “That’s the main thing. I was there for both motos to take the overall.”

AMA/Chevrolet Red Bud 125cc National Overall Results:
1. Mike Brown, 2-1
2. Davi Millsaps, 4-4
3. Josh Grant, 8-2
4. Nathan Ramsey, 5-5
5. Broc Hepler, 12-3
6. Stephane Roncada, 6-8
7. James Stewart, 1-33
8. Ivan Tedesco, 3-19
9. Troy Adams, 16-6
10. Kelly Smith, 17-7

AMA/Chevrolet 125cc National Points Standings (After 5 of 12 rounds):
1. James Stewart (125/4 wins)
2. Mike Brown (194/1 win)
3. Broc Hepler (162)
4. Nathan Ramsey (132)
5. Ivan Tedesco (112)
6. Stephane Roncada (104)
7. Josh Grant (102)
8. Kelly Smith (95)
9. Ryan Hughes (87)
10. Danny Smith (80)