Watch James Stewart battle for position at second round of the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross series in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Watch James Stewart in his attempt to find the fastest line while qualifying at the second round of the 2012 AMA Supercross series in Phoenix.

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In front of a near sold-out crowd inside Phoenix, Arizona’s Chase Field, Round 2 of the 2012 AMA Supercross Series stormed through the desert as the world’s best Supercross racers threw down in their quest to establish early authority in the series points chase. Despite being drained and under the weather all week leading into Phoenix, JGRMX/Red Bull’s James Stewart battled his way to another heat race win, but was unfortunately only able to scrape together an eighth-place finish in what proved to be a challenging 20-lap main event.

With 15 races still to run in the 17-race series, James’ championship hopes are still alive and well as the tour heads back west to LA, but the mighty number seven was less than enthusiastic after his challenging day in Phoenix.

Here’s how the action unfolded…

SUPERCROSS QUALIFYING HEATS
• When the gate dropped for the first Supercross-class heat of the night, James rounded turn number one just inside the top-ten, but immediately went to work on the riders up front.
• By the halfway point, JS7 had maneuvered himself into the third spot after making quick work of Mike Alessi, and then set his sights on Chad Reed in second.
• After some rubbing between Reed and Andrew Short for the lead, James took advantage of the slowed momentum and passed both riders to move into first in one fell swoop.
• Once out front, James threw down three more lighting fast laps despite his lack of energy, and piloted his JGRMX Yamaha to an impressive heat win.

SUPERCROSS MAIN EVENT
• James had a horrific first lap after getting a bad jump out of the gate, and found himself circulating just outside the top-15 as the field crossed the finish line double for the first time.
• On lap seven, just after passing Brett Metcalfe for sixth, James got caught up in a sandy section two turns before the finish, and instantly found himself back in the 15th spot.
• Despite a valiant effort to climb his way back inside the top-ten, JS7 finished the night in a disappointing eighth-place.

“It was a tough day all around,” James commented after the race. “I’m really low on energy thanks to being sick, and I just couldn’t get a start tonight to help out my cause. We still have a long ways to go, though, and I’m looking forward to getting the JGR/Toyota Yamaha on the box next weekend in LA.”

SUPERCROSS RESULTS
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Jake Weimer
3. Ryan Villopoto
4. Kevin Windham
5. Chad Reed
6. Andrew Short
7. Trey Canard
8. James Stewart
9. Brett Metcalfe
10. Josh Hansen

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