ames Stewart earned his third straight Monster Energy Supercross victory Saturday night in front of a record-breaking 60,213 fans at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo.
The Yoshimura Suzuki star passed three-time series champion Ryan Villopoto with 10 laps to go and pulled away to score his fifth win of the season and 50th overall. Stewart joins Jeremy McGrath – the all-time wins leader at 72 – as the only competitors in history to achieve at least 50 career victories.
“This is a special night for me,” said Stewart. “This year I have been having a lot of fun winning races. Tonight was a great race for me; I was able to make the pass and ride to my 50th win. That is huge for me. I never thought I would win 50 of these races.”
Villopoto picked up his eighth podium of the season in second, stretching his points lead to 35 over Ryan Dungey and 36 over third-place Stewart.
“It’s all about the big picture and the championship for me,” said Villopoto. “I can’t afford to make any big mistakes. I was able to get a good start and put in some good laps early on.”
Justin Barcia was third ahead of rival Ken Roczen. Trey Canard finished fifth in his first race back after suffering a broken arm in preseason testing.
Dungey appeared to be on his way to another top-five result when a crash on the final lap dropped him back to ninth.
The series travels to Houston, Texas next weekend (April 5) for round 14 of the championship. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
450SX Class Results: St. Louis
1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
3. Justin Barcia, Pinetta, Fla., Honda
4. Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
5. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda
6. Eli Tomac, Cortex, Colo., Honda
7. Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Suzuki
8. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM
9. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
10. Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Kawasaki
