Stewart Could Make History in Supercross

What if James Stewart decided to ride 125s and 250s on the same night? Travis Pastrana wanted to a few years back, and thought he might have a chance at pulling off two wins in one evening. Unfortunately, things never panned out for Travis, however, timing could be right for young James.We all know that Stewart's been deliberating the last few months on whether or not to ride the 125 or 250 class in AMA Supercross. A while ago, he finally announced that he would ride Kawasaki's all-new KX250F four-stroke in order to prove the new technology. But he made the decision long before Ricky Carmichael injured his knee and Chad Reed went public with a shoulder problem. As of now, Reed will have surgery this week to repair damage caused by hyper-extending his arm in a game of pool, which aggravated the shoulder he dislocated a few years ago. And with Jeremy McGrath most likely opting to stay retired, and Pastrana sidelined while recovering from injuries, the year 2004 could give Stewart a chance to make history.As of now, Kevin Windham is the title favorite unless Reed can come back healthy. This means Windham has a shot at becoming the first-ever AMA 250cc Supercross Champion while riding a four-stroke. We also expect David Vuillemin and Sebastien Tortelli to come back rejuvenated, as well as Mike LaRocco who could become the oldest champ in history.Some people will argue that it's too physically tiring to ride two main events in one night. But Chris Young did it in the mid '90s and made both main events at seven consecutive times. Combined, that's 35 minutes of racing with a 15-20 minute break in between. That's not even one moto at an AMA National. I realize the two are totally different in pace and strategy, but Stewart is one of the most physically fit riders heading into the 2004 season. He's also got youth on his side, and that big thing called confidence.As of now it's doubtful that Stewart will double up, but stranger things have happened. He's still got four weeks of testing time, and we already know that he's the most-dominant 125 rider in modern times. Even when Carmchael was winning in the 125 class, he didn't deliver the same butt whooping as Stewart.Even if Stewart doesn't ride 250s, this year could still be one of the best years of racing ever, even though we're missing a lot of headline names. There will be more guys trying to step it up, and the gap between first and tenth could be closer than it has since the early '80s. One thing's for sure - we will have a first-time supercross champ in 2004.