2005 AMA 250 MOTOCROSS OPEN FULL SEASON - STEWART V CARMICHAEL

Unfortunately, the outdoor battle never materialized as everyone had hoped it would. Carmichael waxed everyone at the opener at Hangtown, while Stewart struggled and eventually pulled out of the second moto with an illness. Stewart was on his game at High Point. He passed Carmichael in the first moto and began pulling away slightly. Before long, Carmichael latched onto Stewart’s pace and hung there. He retook the lead in spectacular fashion, jumping over Stewart’s head on a tabletop, and pulling away from there. Stewart then pulled out of action again at Southwick. At Budds Creek, Stewart was asked what it would take to beat Carmichael, and he said, “A 450.” But Kawasaki didn’t have one. So Stewart tried to soldier on, often getting booed by the same fans that had cheered him wildly while he was winning everything in sight on a 125. It was a strange year.

Carmichael kept on winning. He crashed in the first moto at Southwick, allowing Reed to take the first 250-class moto win of his career. Beyond that, he was pretty much aces, going as fast on a Suzuki as he had on a Honda. Then came Unadilla. Carmichael fell, and Stewart took the lead. Carmichael was charging, and late in the race began to close in. This was the showdown everyone wanted to see. Carmichael got inside and made the pass, but Stewart tried to cross back underneath. But Carmichael didn’t drift wide, so when Stewart hit a jump, he came down right on top of Carmichael’s back, sending them both the ground. Kevin Windham inherited the moto win, Stewart was knocked out, and Carmichael picked himself up to come back in moto two and win the overall. For Stewart, Unadilla was rock bottom.