Kawasaki’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., picked up his first win in a tiebreaker at the Toyota Trucks Pro Motocross Nationals Presented by Division 7, round seven of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF. Kawasaki’s Ben Townley, of Tallahassee, Fla., won his second-consecutive overall and fourth of the season in AMA Motocross Lites. Stewart finished the day in a rare three-way tie with KTM’s Mike Alessi and Honda’s Andrew Short, but based on official AMA rules, he was awarded the overall victory based on his better finish in the second moto. Stewart won the hearts of many in the crowd when he returned to race the second moto after riding through obvious pain while finishing fourth in the first AMA Motocross moto. A high-speed crash last week at Unadilla left Stewart’s status for racing at Lakewood in doubt. But the reigning AMA Supercross champ gutted out a second place finish in the final moto to earn the victory, the fourth AMA Motocross win of his career.
“I was sitting back in the motor home when my dad (James Stewart Sr.) said I had more heart than this,” said Stewart, who took over the points lead from Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael, who has begun the early stages of his retirement. “I got up and started looking at the big picture. I want to win the championship. I’ve rode hurt before, but if it wasn’t for dad, I would not have rode the second moto.”
Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., earned second place overall with a 3-3 moto finish, while Colorado Springs, Colo., native Andrew Short finished third with a 2-4
Motocross (Moto Finish) James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 4-2Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 3-3Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 2-4Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 1-8Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 11-1 David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 8-5 Josh Summey, Stanley, N.C., Honda, 7-7Gavin Gracyk, Blissfield, Ohio, Honda, 6-10 Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 5-11 Grant Langston, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha, 10-9
Motocross Class Point Standings James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 265 Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 241Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 239Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 237Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 224Grant Langston, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha, 213Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 203Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 172David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 164Gavin Gracyk, Blissfield, Ohio, Honda, 129