“JS7 Dealt a Bad Hand in Sin City”. The headline pretty much sums up what James has been feeling throughout the bulk of the 2011 AMA Supercross series. Though he’s the first to admit that some of his misfortune has been brought on by his own mistakes, there’s no doubt that bad luck and a series of bad hands got the best of James’ title hopes in 2011. With 16 grueling rounds of action already in the books and the championship all but out of sight, JS7 rolled into Las Vegas hoping for a series-ending win to highlight an otherwise up and down season. Unfortunately for James, a win just wasn’t in the cards tonight in Sin City, and the mighty number 7 will have to wait until 2012 to grace the SX podium once again.

SUPERCROSS QUALIFYING HEATS

• When the gates dropped for Supercross Heat #1, James rocketed down the long Vegas start straight to grab the holeshot and early lead.
• Halfway through the eight-lap heat race, JS7 set the fastest lap of the entire day with a 101.61—over a full second quicker than second-fastest Chad Reed.
• Looking absolutely flawless on the slick, challenging Sam Boyd Stadium circuit, James motored away from the rest of the pack, eventually winning by a whopping 14 seconds.

SUPERCROSS MAIN EVENT

• With 20 of the world’s fastest Supercross riders amped and ready for the final main event of the 2011 series, the gates dropped, and James immediately worked his way into the second spot before the end of lap one.
• After a multi-lap battle with Supercross veteran Kevin Windham, JS7 made a pass for the lead on lap four.
• Pushing the envelope while trying to pull away from the pack, James made a critical mistake in the whoops on lap number seven, and went down hard on the rigid Vegas soil.
• Unable to rejoin the race due to an injured foot, JS7′s hopes of a Vegas win ended in a flash.
• Though proving himself as the quickest man on the track at the majority of the 17 rounds of action this season, James was cursed with bad luck and misfortune, and sadly had to settle for fourth overall in the championship points standings.

LAS VEGAS SUPERCROSS RESULTS

1. Chad Reed
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Ryan Villopoto
4. Chris Blose
5. Andrew Short
6. Jake Weimer
7. Austin Stroupe
8. Nick Wey
9. Kyle Regal
10. Tye Simmonds

OFFICIAL POINT STANDINGS

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Chad Reed
3. Ryan Dungey
4. James Stewart
5. Trey Canard
6. Andrew Short
7. Kevin Windham
8. Davi Millsaps
9. Justin Brayton
10. Nick Wey

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The 2011 Supercross series has been an absolute barn burner, coming down to the final two rounds of action in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas to decide a champion. After a rough go during the midway swing of the series, James incredibly charged his way back into the championship fight with back-to-back wins in St. Louis and Seattle, but his impressive run sadly came to an end in SLC.

Needing a win to stay in the fight and take the title chase to the finale in Vegas, JS7 was doing everything right as he led the first several laps of the main event under the frigid Utah skies, but a series of crashes just before the halfway point effectively ended his campaign.

Here’s how all the action unfolded in Salt Lake City…

SUPERCROSS QUALIFYING HEATS
• James snatched the Heat #2 holeshot aboard his Red Bull-backed San Manuel Yamaha, with Red Bull KTM’s Andrew Short close in tow.
• JS7 looked flawless out front, as he piloted his Yamaha to a comfortable nine-second win over second-place Ryan Dungey.
• James spun a best lap of 42.81 to Chad Reed’s (winner of Heat #1) 42.88, setting the stage for an action-packed main event.

SUPERCROSS MAIN EVENT
• With just two main events left in the 2011 Supercross series (including SLC), JS7 rocketed out of the gate to capture the holeshot in front of series rivals Reed, Ryan Villopoto, and Ryan Dungey.
• By lap five, James had extended a 2.6-second gap on second-place Reed, who had Villopoto nipping at his heels.
• With the championship on the line and absolutely no room for error for any of the contenders, JS7’s entire season flashed before him as he washed out his front end in a slick SLC corner. Scrambling to regroup, James went down again immediately following in the tricky SLC whoop section.
• Forced into the pit lane to straighten out his bike, JS7 lost nearly a full lap to the leaders, effectively ending his title run.
• James rejoined the race to eventually finish in the 10th spot, but unfortunately lost the valuable championship points needed to stay in the title hunt. With just the final round in Las Vegas remaining, James remains in the fourth position in the overall championship points chase.

SUPERCROSS RESULTS

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Chad Reed
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Andrew Short
5. Davi Millsaps
6. Kevin Windham
7. Jake Weimer
8. Tommy Hahn
9. Justin Brayton
10. James Stewart

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With just three races left in the 2011 AMA Supercross series, round number 15 in Seattle was viewed by many as the pivotal, must-win race for the four riders still in the championship hunt, and none other than JS7 himself was the man who stepped up to the challenge.

After a perfect, rain-free day inside the Seattle Seahawks’ beautiful QWEST Field, James convincingly captured his second-straight win to pull within nine points of the championship lead.

SUPERCROSS QUALIFYING HEATS

• James pulled a second-place start behind Red Bull teammate Mike Alessi to get Supercross Heat #1 underway.
• Wanting no part of the runner-up position, however, James quickly grabbed the lead before the end of lap one.
• JS7 made it look easy up front, taking the heat win by over 15 seconds ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Andrew Short, while setting the day’s fastest lap time (50.784) along the way.
• The overall elapsed time of James’ heat race was 17 seconds quicker than Kevin Windham’s Heat #2 win, serving notice that he came to play in Seattle.

SUPERCROSS MAIN EVENT

• With the QWEST Field fans on their feet, the premiere-class main event got underway with a tight battle for the holeshot, but it was James who prevailed as the pack rounded turn one.
• Chad Reed got by to take over the lead midway through lap one, but James quickly retaliated and grabbed it back.
• Steadily extending his lead over Reed who still sat in second, JS7 began navigating his way through lapped riders by lap number six, but did so with seemingly relative ease.
• By the halfway mark, James had established a comfortable nine-second lead, and continued reeling off smooth lap after smooth lap on what was no doubt one of the most challenging tracks of the series thus far.
• In desperate need of a win to stay in the championship hunt, JS7 rode a near flawless race to take his second-straight—and fifth total—win of the series.
• With two rounds left to go (Salt Lake City and Las Vegas), James now sits just nine points behind current championship points leader Ryan Villopoto.

SUPERCROSS RESULTS

1. James Stewart
2. Kevin Windham
3. Chad Reed
4. Ryan Villopoto
5. Ryan Dungey
6. Mike Alessi
7. Kyle Regal
8. Davi Millsaps
9. Tommy Hahn
10. Andrew Short

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