James Stewart talks NASCAR, signing with Joe Gibbs Racing
With JGRMX, Stewart will rejoin familiar company from his Kawasaki days; former mechanic Jeremy Albrecht, who now is the team manager; engine builder Dean Baker and Spencer Bloomer, JGR's R&D technician who was a support tech at Team Green when Stewart was an amateur.
Stewart, who finished fourth in the 2011 AMA Supercross series and then sat out the AMA Pro Motocross Championship for the third consecutive year, said he never stopped riding over the summer. Instead, he was pounding laps with his brother Malcolm while also trying to figure out what brand and team he wanted to ride for in 2012.
He tested on all five brands and fielded offers from many teams before ultimately settling on JGRMX in a deal that also will give him future opportunities to race with four wheels for the team's NASCAR operation. He has a test scheduled in a few weeks in a late model car, he said.
First though, Stewart, a five time AMA Supercross/Motocross champion, said he has two goals: to win both titles in the same year and to beat Jeremy McGrath's career supercross win record, which stands at 72. He currently has 42 wins. ESPN