Supercross rider James Stewart said NASCAR is something he'd like to try. Credit: Team Kawasaki

James Stewart: Next young gun of NASCAR?

Motorcycle racer says he has more to do before driving stock cars

Think Richard Petty in the late 1960s and early '70s. Or maybe Dale Earnhardt a decade later. Or even Jeff Gordon as the '90s closed out.

Then you'll get an idea of what James "Bubba" Stewart is to Supercross and Motocross racing.

	Credit: Team Kawasaki
	PHOTO GALLERY • Check out images of James Rising starShannon Wiseman talks to motorcross star James Stewart about future in NASCAR Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

In just his fifth year of riding professionally, the 20-year-old has won four championships -- two in Supercross (indoor, man-made tracks) and two in Motocross (outdoor, natural tracks). He holds the record for the most career professional victories (47) in AMA Supercross Lites and Motocross Lites (smaller motors and half the number of races).

Last year, despite being injured and sick for most of the season, he won three of the final five races in the 250 class.

Two years ago, he won 18 of 20 AMA East Supercross Lites and Motocross Lites races in the 125 class.

Three years ago, he won 15 of the 17 races he entered. Midseason, he broke his collarbone and came back to win eight consecutive races and finish third in the AMA Motocross Lites standings.

Four years ago, he became the youngest rider to win an AMA Supercross Lites race or to win an AMA Motocross Lites championship, had a record 14 Supercross victories and won a record 10 Motocross races. In doing so, he became the first black rider to win a race or a title.

Before he turned pro, he won more amateur national titles than anybody.

Get the picture?

"He really put in more of an effort than most, and he's really changed how a lot of people ride now," said crew chief Jeremy Albrecht, noting that Stewart has perfected the art of passing other riders in the air by turning his bike sideways. "He studies. He works on that all the time at home. He rides probably more than any other rider ever has."

It is Stewart's study habits that may land him in a stock car one day.

James "Bubba" Stewart Credit: Team Kawasaki

"Actually I have an interest in NASCAR for sure," Stewart said. "People look at it differently, but I consider what we're doing, with all the different people in the industry and all the guys racing, I think that's NASCAR to us. It's the top level."

NASCAR -- or even racing in any type of cars -- isn't his goal just yet. He still has a lot of riding to do on a motorcycle. This is just his second full season of racing in the 250 class after dominating the 125s. Plus, he wants to make up for last year.

In the second race of the season last year, Stewart crashed and broke his arm. Add to that a bunch of little bruises and sore spots, and he never got going full throttle.

"I never really felt like I had a fair opportunity to race," he said. "I was at 80 percent the whole time, and out here you have to be 110 percent to race. It was definitely stressful."

He's recovered quite nicely, though. Halfway through this season's Supercross schedule, he's sitting third in the points. And once again, it goes back to Stewart being a student of his sport.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you are," Albrecht said, "it matters when you started putting your time in."

Stewart has done just that.

The guy first got on a bike when he was 2. Started racing 110s -- those little sport bikes that are now popular entertainment machines -- when he was 4. Began a career when he was 8.

His father, whose name is also James Stewart, used to race motorcycles, and that didn't hurt things when it came for James Jr. to decide on a career path in sports. Nothing else was really an option.

"If I pick up a basketball, it's like doing algebra or something," Stewart said. "I'll stay away from that."

Stewart said he's a motorcycle rider because that's what he grew up with.

"I just think it's what we see first, and I saw a motorcycle first," he said. "Other people saw a basketball or a football.

"If my dad didn't race motorcycles, I'd probably be playing football. It has to be brought to your attention, especially that young. If my dad played basketball and I went to a lot of games, that's all I'd want to do."

Just because his dad didn't drive stock cars, however, doesn't mean Stewart can't make the switch. At least five Nextel Cup drivers have worked their way into a stock car by racing motorcycles -- Clint Bowyer, Robby Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Joe Nemechek and Scott Riggs.

But none of them ruled the sport like Stewart has.

"Who knows, maybe I'd go out there and suck," Stewart said. "People would say, 'I know you've got an interest, but maybe you can be a pit guy or something.'

"But I feel like I have a good chance of doing it."