At this point there is no good news or firm date as to when James will be back on the gate and racing again, but we are happy to report to all of the lucky fans who have a ticket to Anaheim 3 tomorrow night that JS will be in the house! While he is forced to sit out of the race anyway due to his recent wrist surgery, James decided to try his hand at a little commentating; he’ll give it a go tomorrow night at Angels Stadium. Even if you’re going, don’t forget to watch the broadcast on CBS at 12 pm ET on Sunday to see what James has to say about his competition…

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After the abuse that James’ body took during last weekend’s crashes in Phoenix, the defending SX champ had an irregular week of preparation for Anaheim 2. With a sore wrist, shoulder, and ankle holding him back, James was unable to ride all week, but showed up in Anaheim to give it his all toward staying in the championship points fight. Despite sitting out of the opening ceremonies to conserve some energy, James braved his way to the line for Supercross heat number one.

When the gates dropped, JS7 found himself chasing Tommy Hahn around the A2 circuit during the majority of lap number one, but threw down a pass just before crossing the finish line double for the first time. From there, Hahn made a pass back on James to reclaim the lead, but Stewart retaliated just a lap later to once again control the pace up front. On lap number six, James’ teammate Josh Hill, who rode incredibly well all night, snuck by to take over the lead. Safely within qualifying position, James followed Hill in for a relatively conservative second place finish.

A good start would be critical to accomplishing James’ goal of finishing on the podium in the A2 main event, and he did just exactly that. After rocketing down the start straight and crossing the holeshot stripe in the second spot, James immediately made a pass for the lead. James would go on to lead the first five laps of the main before giving way to Hill during the sixth go around, and then Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey got by on lap number 12. Despite riding through obvious pain, James held on to finish in a very respectable third place when all was said and done.

Collecting valuable series points, James now heads into another week of rehab on his injuries before lining up in the gate for round number four in San Francisco. “It’s tough,” James commented after the race. “I haven’t ridden all week, and about eight laps into it I just couldn’t hold on anymore. Ryan and Josh were riding really well, and I just didn’t have anything for them. I had sections where I was pretty good, but they were just on it. Congratulations to those guys, and I’ll just try to come back next week and see what happens.”

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After a long summer off from AMA competition, James Stewart kicked off his 2010 racing campaign in style at round number one of the AMA Supercross series in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. Though a pesky preseason illness threw a monkey wrench into James’ plans and preparation during the off-season, the defending Supercross champ put his head down in the few weeks leading up to the season opener, and his hard work and determination no doubt paid off by the end of the night. Claiming the top spot on the podium at A1 has become a tricky task over the past several years, but James and his Red Bull-backed racing program did exactly that as the checkers waved in Anaheim.

With his sights set on holding on to the bold number one that graces the front of his San Manuel Yamaha, James looked spot on as he set the fastest overall lap times during both of the day’s timed qualifying session, and then went on to dominate Supercross heat number two with a walk away victory. With a stacked gate of the world’s best Supercross pilots frothing at the chance to beat the champ, the field rocketed down the start straight and into turn number one to kick off what would unfold to be an incredible main event! Moving into the second spot behind Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey by turn two, James began a patient and controlled assault on the Anaheim circuit. Losing ground at times due to a few uncommon mistakes, it wasn’t until lap 18 that Stewart finally made his move on Dungey for the lead. Despite a last lap retaliation by Dungey, James held on to the top spot, and motored on to a well-deserved win!

“Ryan rode really well tonight,” James said after the race. “I kept making mistakes in a couple of the sections over there, but I got it together, put my head down, and made a run for him. It wasn’t perfect, but in the end I’m really thankful to leave here with the win.”

Stay tuned for round number to in Phoenix, Arizona next Saturday night!

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