Stewart Gets His First Taste of Supercross

Kit Palmer | January 4, 2002

One of Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki’s newest team members, James “Bubba” Stewart, made his supercross debut today at Anaheim, and even though it was just practice, it was a big day for the pro-class rookie. Stewart looked right at home on the Anaheim track and was going very fast. He even spent a couple of laps dicing around with his old friend Ricky Carmichael.

“It felt good,” Stewart said following his second and final practice session. “It was different, but I liked it actually; better than with the amateur guys. They [the riders] are little bit smarter out there [and] I like being around the fans and all. Being in the stadium is awesome, too, and the jumps are cool.

“Me and Ricky were messing around with each other,” Stewart added. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve ridden with him, so it was cool. I felt good out there.”

Stewart will be competing in tomorrow’s 125cc Western Regional division.

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.