GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart had a big sigh of relief—literally—after taking Saturday night’s 250SX East Region main event win. He’s bumped his points lead up to 14 with only the Las Vegas finale ahead—although the West Region riders will be in that one as well so it could get crazy. We found Malcolm down near the podium after the race.
Racer X: Okay Malcolm, you’ve got 14 points going into Las Vegas.
Malcolm Stewart: It’s going to be tough, we’ve got those West Coast guys coming in, but I feel like us East Coast boys, we’ve got the momentum rolling. We want to win. I know it’s been a roller coaster season for us but I feel like…I’m sticking with the East Coast, man! I’m an East Coast boy! I can’t thank the guys from GEICO Honda enough. The season I’ve had, the ups and downs, big downfall in Toronto, Daytona leading 12 laps and going from first to fourth, and even St. Louis will all of those crashes. I finished eighth. I feel like now I’ve got my ducks in a row and I’m believing in myself. Last weekend, I think I focused on the points too much. This weekend I said “You know what? The points don’t matter. I’m just going to do the best I can do tonight.” You know what? That’s what I did and look where it got us. It’s definitely a weight off of my shoulders, but Vegas is going to be crazy, I feel like teammates might even be a factor.
Seemed like the track got slick and tough.
This track was almost like an Anaheim, it was hard and slick and the way some of the ruts where. But I feel like I actually ride the hard pack better….but you know what? It doesn’t matter what kind of track we’re riding on! I want to get that championship! That’s all that matters, let’s get this done and celebrate afterwards. That’s the goal.
How much of a relief is this. Last week was a podium, you picked up a few points, but this win is big.
Oh man, it’s like [huge sigh]. It’s like, whew!!! When I looked up on the board and I saw 14 points, it felt good! But at the same time, anything can happen in Las Vegas. We can have a bad race, we can have teammates, anything can happen, bike issues. We’re going into next weekend, I’ll cross my fingers and pray!
What about the crowd here? Seemed like you have them on your side and cheering big with the heat race, the main, dancing after it….
I just know how to rile the crowd up, I kind of feel like I can be a crowd favorite like a Kevin Windham, for instance.
Does that help you ride better? Relax more?
Well don’t get me wrong, it’s still intimidating out here! You’re in front of 40,000 people, and it’s a blessing, not everyone can do this. So I look at it like, be happy, accept who you are and what you’re doing. No matter how you do, you’re getting to do this for a job so be happy about it!
So talk about thinking about the points like you said you did last weekend. New attitude today?
After watching back last week’s race, I rode pathetic. It looked like I was really timid and I was just trying to maintain the points lead. I felt like I was riding behind myself, I was focusing on guys who were behind me. This week, I said I’m just going to ride, and I’m either going to keep the points lead, or I’m going to lose it. I don’t care, I was just going to ride. It happened to pay off. I look at myself right now with a 14-point lead but it’s not over.
This team picked you up two years ago, I’m sure at the time you weren’t even thinking championship. You were going to have to privateer it. You just needed a ride.
Oh, two years ago?! Yeah, I just wanted to ride! Then going out and winning my first race last year in Oakland, I feel like that justified my ride. Honestly, I said now that I’ve got a ride all I’ve got to do is focus on riding and training this year. Last year, a lot of the off-season I was just stressed about putting all the things together, trying to get to the race and all that. So now that focus is paying off. Now it’s time to see if we can get this done.
Last thing: can you get in some fishing this week?
Well, the problem is I’m going to be out in California! But I’ll tell you what, I’m going to find a way to go fishing. Wednesday I’m fishing no matter what, I’m throwing one in there, I don’t care if it’s in the ocean! Gotta stick with the program!
