James "Bubba" Stewart may be known as Tiger Woods of motocross, but it might better be said that Tiger Woods is the Bubba Stewart of golf. After all, Bubba Stewart entered 24 outdoor motocross races during the past summer and won all of them. Tiger Woods won consecutive pro golf tournaments back in 2006, but 24 in a row? It boggles the imagination.

Bubba Stewart, as of early February, also was on a winning streak during the winter/spring supercross competition under the auspices of the American Motorcyclist Association, drawing crowds in the 40,000 range at baseball stadiums in places such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Bubba Stewart's only defeat was at the start of the year at Anaheim Stadium, when competitors knocked down his bike not once, but twice.

Speaking of bikes, Bubba Stewart has switched to Yamaha after many years with Kawasaki.

James "Bubba" Stewart and Tiger Woods have many similarities that go beyond their status not only as the first African-American superstars in their respective sports, but also as arguably the best ever in motocross and in golf, respectively. Bubba Stewart pursues Ricky Carmichael, while Tiger Woods pursues Jack Nicklaus.

To start, Bubba Stewart (12/21/85) and Tiger Woods (12/30/75) both were Christmas-time babies.

Both grew up with hyper-involved fathers, James Stewart Sr. and the now-deceased Earl Woods. Golf fans and sports fans in general are acquainted with a film clip of a 2-year-old Tiger Woods appearing on the old Mike Douglas Show and knocking a golf ball into a net with perfect form. Well, James Stewart Sr. reportedly took Bubba on his first dirt bike ride when Bubba was 2 DAYS old! Bubba Stewart entered his first motocross race as a 4-year-old rider and had a sponsor as a 7-year-old competitor.

Eldrick Woods was "Tiger" from birth, but James Stewart Jr. wasn't "Bubba" under the age of 8. His favorite motocross racer was Jeff "Chicken" Matiasevich, and so the younger became "Baby Chicken," which somehow evolved into "Bubba." He admits his nickname may seem odd, explaining, "A typical Bubba looks like an older white gentleman, kind of fat, who lives on a farm, has a toothpick and wears overalls and a straw hat."

Bubba Stewart's parents traveled the country so that Bubba and younger brother Malcolm could follow the junior motocross circuit, and so the two children were homeschooled.

James "Bubba" Stewart, at age 22, hasn't forgotten from whence he came. His home back in Haines City has an outdoor motocross track.

Sources:
http://www.motopress.net/Main/Riders/jamesstewart.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart_Jr.
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/3776-james-bubba-stewart-biography
http://www.pgatour.com/2007/tournaments/r473/03/19/tigernotes031907/
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/events/raceresults/1/sc/374/supercross_january_31_2009_san_francisco_ca_results.aspx