Florida police on Monday arrested motorcycle racer James “Bubba” Stewart for impersonating a police officer after the 25-year-old flashed red and blue lights at a car full of real cops.
March will be a month that Stewart will be glad to get past. After a miserable performance on the track, beginning with a disastrous Daytona Supercross on March 5, Stewart's bad news on Monday extended to the outside world when he and a friend illuminated illegal flashing police lights on Stewart's customized 2008 Toyota Tundra and pulled over a car near the Orlando International Airport, not far from Stewart's Florida home.
Too bad for Stewart and his friend, the car was occupied by two off-duty Florida Highway Patrol officers and a county deputy sheriff. According to police reports, Stewart pulled his Tundra alongside the car--and the officers then lowered their car's window and flashed their badges. Stewart reportedly extinguished the flashing lights immediately and sped off toward the airport.
The officers notified additional real police, and they located and arrested Stewart and his pal at the airport. Stewart was charged with impersonating an officer, and his friend was charged with tampering with evidence, as police reported that the red and blue lights--which Stewart said he bought at a flea market--had been removed and stowed in the friend's luggage.
Police impounded the Tundra and Stewart was jailed. He bonded out at about 3 a.m. Tuesday and was met by his usual entourage. They drove away in a Land Rover Range Rover.
Stewart sat out almost all of the 2010 Supercross season with injuries, then came back this season with three early wins and the points lead coming into Daytona Beach. On March 5, racing at a Ricky Carmichael-designed Supersross course at Daytona International Speedway, Stewart rocketed to an early lead before botching a jump and crashing hard. Stewart tried to get up, then fell, then got up again and got back on his motorcycle. While he was far behind the leaders, he still turned in the fastest lap of the race. The incident cost Stewart the points lead.
Since Daytona, Stewart has had some rough races and has not won since Feb. 5. On March 19 in Jacksonville, he crashed on the first lap and did not finish the race, instead heading to the hospital. On March 26 in Toronto, race 12 of the 17-round championship, he again fell on the first lap. After dominating the points early in the season, Stewart is now fourth going into this weekend's race at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas, 20 points behind leader Chad Reed.
Substantially elevating Stewart's public profile was his own cable TV reality show, titled Bubba's World, which premiered a year ago on Fuel TV with reruns showing on Speed TV. The show recently ended its second season, and work on a third season, if there is one, has not begun. Stewart comes across as alternately driven and professional but periodically moody and petulant. He often seems eager to distance himself from his parents, including his no-nonsense father, James Sr., who introduced his son to motorcycles at age three and largely guided his career. Stewart earns an estimated $10 million annually.
That said, Stewart seems to have rekindled the fire that made him a two-time series champion. In a Twitter message to his fans earlier this month, he said, “I'll fight them till hell freezes over then I'll fight them on ice. You can expect that until the day I hang up my boots.” And, “I'll never quit. It's not about how hard you go down, it's about how hard u fight when u get up.”
Stewart, who does a lot of charity work, particularly with the Boy's and Girl's Clubs, took a beating from some of his fans posting on his Web site. “Positive role model turns into 21st century THUG!” said one.
Others suggested that Stewart, often compared with golfer Tiger Woods, now unfortunately has one more thing in common with Woods--an embarrassing incident involving the police.
