 Unadilla, NY - July 18, 2004
By Steve Cox
James Stewart is simply terrorizing the 125cc
class outdoors. At Unadilla, it was more of the same, as
Stewart decimated the field in two completely different
fashions. In the first moto, he was caught behind a first-turn
pileup. Even so, it only took him until lap five to take
the lead from Stephane Roncada. The second moto, he started
up front and stayed there.
“I was talking to my dad a lot before we went
out there for the first moto, and he was like, ‘All
I saw in the qualifiers was there’s always too
pileups – one on the inside, and one on the outside.
If you’re in the middle of the pack, just stop,
and even if you’re dead last going into the corner,
if you stay up after that, you’ll win the race,’” Stewart
said. “I still go for it, I mean, I don’t
go to the gate knowing that I won’t get a holeshot,
but realistically, it’s not going to happen.
I’m having a good time, and I stayed up today.
It’s kind of like the amateur races, because
I was dead last coming into the corner, and I come
out and I’m like 20th. It was fun.”
The first moto, after starting about 20th, Stewart
quickly moved through the pack, sitting seventh after
one lap, fourth after two, second after three, and
then working on Roncada out front until lap five, when
Bubba took over.
“
I actually got caught up in a first-corner pileup,” Stewart
said. “I kind of ran right into it. I didn’t
go down, and I figured if I stayed up the first lap,
I’d have a good chance at winning, and I made
my way up after a couple bobbles there early. The track
was really slippery today, and I caught RonRon, and
I was thinking, ‘Sacramento is not going to happen
again.’ So I got around him and I think he actually
hurt his knee and then pulled off. So it was a good
ride. I got a good start the second moto and came up,
and I got a good start the second moto, so it was good.”
From there, it was the Bubba show, as he stretched
out a 46-second lead over eventual second-place finisher
Davi Millsaps and third-placed Matt Walker.
Stewart
started near the front in moto two and took off right
away. Funny thing is, even with the “head
start”, he could “only” muster a
34-second lead over Walker by the finish. It would’ve
been even less than that, but Millsaps, who was again
running second, blew up his bike on the last lap.
“It’s very grueling to go 30 plus 2 out
there,” Walker said. “It’s very rocky.
It looks very loamy out there, but there’s a
lot of rocks, and when you’re behind a four-stroke,
it puts out a lot of rocks, and to take those pelts
from the rocks and to keep going and finish the moto,
it’s very demanding, and I have bruises all over
my chest to show you guys. It’s very tough out
there. It’s one of the toughest races, I think,
but it’s also a great track. It’s great
to race the same track as all of our heroes raced.”
Stewart was unimpressed with his second-moto margin
of victory.
“That’s actually a small lead,” he
said. “I get out there, and I see the pitboard,
and it’s like +18 and +20 and stuff like that.
But from winning by a minute at Budds Creek and then
winning by 20 or 30 seconds seems small, but it’s
working for me. I’m still winning, no matter
where I finish at.”
AMA/Chevrolet Red Bud 125cc National Overall Results:
1. James Stewart, 1-1
2. Matt Walker, 3-2
3. Kelly Smith, 6-5
4. Mike Brown, 11-3
5. Josh Grant, 7-6
6. Ryan Hughes, 4-10
7. Broc Hepler, 12-4
8. Ryan Mills, 9-7
9. Davi Millsaps, 2-19
10. Nathan Ramsey, 8-15
AMA/Chevrolet 125cc National Points Standings (After
6 of 12 rounds):
1. James Stewart (275/5 wins)
2. Mike Brown (224/1 win)
3. Broc Hepler (189)
4. Nathan Ramsey (151)
5. Josh Grant (131)
6. Kelly Smith (126)
7. Ryan Hughes (116)
8. Ivan Tedesco (113)
9. Matt Walker (109)
10. Stephane Roncada (104)
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