It’s no secret that James Stewart no longer holds the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series in the iron grip he once did. To get an idea of just how dominant Stewart once was, we decided to pull the stats from the first nine rounds of his championship years of 2007 and 2009, and compare them to the first nine rounds of 2011 and 2012. We didn’t include 2008 and 2010 because Stewart was sidelined with injury during those seasons.

James Stewart’s stats through the first nine rounds:

 

2007

Heat Race Wins                                 9

Laps Led                                           113

Main Event Wins                                6

Points                                               210

Points Position                                  1st

Average Position After One Lap         3.9

Average Finish                                  1.7

Points Back of Series Leader              Led series by 19 Points

 

2009

Heat Race Wins                                 9

Laps Led                                           130

Main Event Wins                                7

Points                                               199

Points Position                                  Tied for 1st with Chad Reed

Average Position After One Lap        1.7

Average Finish                                  3.1

Points Back of Series Leader              0, Tied for 1st with Chad Reed

Stewart has just one win thus far in 2012, his lowest win total ever -- at this point in the series -- not including injury.
Photo: Simon Cudby

2011

Heat Race Wins                                 6

Laps Led                                           72

Main Event Wins                                3

Points                                               173

Points Position                                  2nd

Average Position After One Lap         4.7

Average Finish                                  4.3

Points Back of Series Leader              23

 

2012

Heat Race Wins                                 7

Laps Led                                           11

Main Event Wins                                1

Points                                               152

Points Position                                  3rd

Average Position After One Lap         7.7

Average Finish                                  5.4

Points Back of Series Leader              53

 

Obviously, the first half of Stewart’s 2012 season has not gone well in relation to the standards he’s used to. What’s to blame? Nobody knows for sure, perhaps not even Stewart himself, or anyone at the JGR team. One thing that is for sure, is that Stewart’s starts have been terrible this season. Take a look his position at the end of the first lap through the first nine races of 2012.

Stewart's average starting position in 2012 is 7.66.
Photo: Simon Cudby

Round 1          6

Round 2          13

Round 3          2

Round 4          4

Round 5          4

Round 6          6

Round 7          7

Round 8          9

Round 9          18

 

There’s a chance that Stewart is just a few good starts away from setting his stats on the up trend—but going back to his old 2007 level of dominance in this field will not be easy.