LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (August 30, 2004) - To the avid fan, the story of James “Bubba” Stewart and his rise through the motocross ranks has been told time and again. But more and more non-motocross fans are beginning to take notice as this likeable 18-year-old from Haines City, Fla. continues to take his colorful sport to the mainstream media. On Tuesday, August 31, an in-depth interview on Stewart will be featured on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” portraying his story, and his sport, to the show’s millions of viewers.

The bulk of the feature, which is just over nine minutes in length and will air at 10 p.m. across the country as part of HBO’s regional programming, was conducted at the Stewarts residence in Florida, but the “Real Sports” crew also attended the Millville, Minn., and Binghamton, N.Y., national motocross races to get the racing action, as well as some additional interviews. The interviews were conducted by the show’s top correspondent, James Brown, a Sports Emmy Award winner and the host of “FOX NFL Sunday.

Brown is a newcomer to the sport of motocross, but quickly found an appreciation of Stewart’s skills on a motorcycle. He was amazed at how “big a sport motocross was” and also made these comments while touring the race site in Binghamton. “This kid is truly unbelievable. The impressive part is that he’s just as impressive off the track as he is on it. This (interview) has been an eye-opening experience for me. Now I know why HBO had me do this interview. I just hope we can do it justice on TV.”

Stewart continues his assault on the record books, having won at a mind-boggling 85-percent rate during his nearly three years of professional racing. He has already clinched this season’s 125 championship, his fourth title as a pro, and has his sights set on breaking the all-time win record with his 27th victory this weekend in Pennsylvania (he tied the record with his 26th victory two weeks ago in N.Y.).

His success has not been limited to the race track, however. Stewart has been quite popular with the mainstream press of late, as evident in his appearance in several of the nation’s top publications and television news programs. In addition to HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” he has been featured on “NBC Nightly News,” “CBS Evening News,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and FOX Sport’s “Best Damn Sports Show.” Feature articles have also appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Teen People, Rolling Stone, Seventeen, Sports Illustrated for Kids, King, Complex, Boys Life and USA Today.

In addition to Tuesday’s airing, “Real Sports” is expecting frequent re-broadcasts of this month’s program, so check your local listing for dates and times in your area.


Denny Hartwig, Public Relations Manager
Clear Channel Entertainment -- Motor Sports
495 North Commons Drive Suite 200
Aurora, IL 60564
630-566-6305