Behind each of the professional Supercross racers we watch every week is a story. We’ve heard many of these stories from their mouths. After going to a local race and seeing a moto mom helping her daughter at the gate and working on the bike, I had the idea for this feature. Moms play a huge role in our lives growing up, but we don’t normally think of them as playing a huge role in our racing. But they obviously do. Whether it’s emotional support, making food for the track, or going to the track and holding a stopwatch and putting fuel in the bike, moms play their role. For this third edition, I talked to James and Malcolm Stewart’s mom, Sonya.

For the full interview, check out the Vital MX podcast right here. If you’re interested in the condensed written version, scroll down just a bit further.

Jamie Guida – Vital MX: Where did you grow up, and were you involved in competitive sports at a young age?

Sonya Stewart: I’ve been a Floridian my whole life. I was competitive in sports in school up until 11th grade. I tried it all; track, volleyball, basketball, you know. I like to do anything outdoors.

Vital MX: Did you know anything about motocross as a teenager, as a kid, or did you learn about that after meeting Big James?

Sonya: I learned about it after meeting Big James. I didn’t know anything about it at all. I was a homebound girl.

Vital MX: What were your initial thoughts? What did you think of the sport once you saw it?

Sonya: At the beginning, I was like, “Man, I don’t know about this. Is this really what my kids and I will be doing?” Even with Big James being in it, I didn’t get the concept initially. It finally came around. I didn’t think we belonged in it.

Vital MX: Once you knew you were pregnant with James, was there a discussion almost immediately, “I can’t wait to get him a dirt bike” from Big James? 

Sonya: Yes, that was right off the bat. Once we found out it was a boy, that was the first thing he said. He said, “Oh yeah, he’s going to be a dirt bike rider.” Even when we brought him home within that first week, he had him sitting on a dirt bike. He couldn’t sit up, but he sat him on his dirt bike. I was like, “Oh my God, here we go.” The next thing I knew, it was on.

Vital MX: As a mother, that typically would scare you. You don’t want your kids hurt. It’s a dangerous sport.

Sonya: No, no, no. It didn’t scare me because I have three younger brothers and have been around boys my whole life. I was a tomboy type. So, I wasn’t scared about the things I’d seen with my brothers and everybody else. That’s one thing about me, I wasn’t scared about it at all.

Vital MX: What were the boys’ ages, James and Malcolm, when they first got their own motorcycles?

Sonya: I’m going to say three. I remember going to Dade City, and James wasn’t four yet, and we could go up there and practice. Randy Yoho, let us go ahead and practice. James may say two, but I would say three.

Vital MX: Did you notice any effect the sport or being around motorcycles had on their personalities? Did it bring their personalities out?

Sonya: No, it didn’t. Honestly, they were in this from the beginning. James was always quiet anyway from the start. He stayed that way as he got deeper into the sport. Malcolm was just that outgoing kid from the beginning, anyway. Malcolm needed to be more serious. You can say it changed his personality a little bit and he had to be more serious about it or get out of it.

Vital MX: We saw that on the Bubba’s World Show. There were some moments when he just wasn’t that interested in it. I talked to him in an interview recently, and he said there was a moment when he realized, “I need to take a shot at this, and I’m going have to take it seriously.”

Sonya: Yeah. Some of that Bubba’s World was set up, though.

Vital MX: We may get into that towards the end. With James starting to race, did that change any of your fears or concerns once it started getting faster? 

Sonya: I started getting more fearful once he got to the pro level in the 125 class. I think any mom or parent would be coming out of amateurs and going straight into the pros. That worried me a little bit. He was still 16 years old and still growing. There was so much hype around him that I felt it may have thrown him off his game, if that makes any sense. He would try to please the fans and the sponsors and not concentrate on how he was brought up. At the amateur level, it was all him. He didn’t care what anybody thought. He just went for it and then when he got to the pro level, it was just so much pressure on him, especially at the beginning.

Vital MX: When he’s young and starts becoming dominant in the amateurs, were you concerned about how consuming the sport can be for a kid? Maybe there weren’t enough other interests? 

Sonya: James was 100% focused on amateurs. Even when he got on the peewee, that was his main focus. His dad would work an overnight shift, and little James would have his gear and stuff ready to go. So, it consumed little James, but that’s what he wanted to do. Malcolm, on the other hand, fished a lot. So, I’m going to say, yes, it consumed James, but no, it didn’t consume Malcolm.

Vital MX: Were you concerned about that consumption?

Sonya: No, not at all.

Vital MX: Malcolm did. Loretta’s around 4 to 6, if I’m not mistaken. Did he seem to enjoy the racing, or was it just what the family did? 

Sonya: I must say he did enjoy it in the beginning. Then it got to the point where he was like, “I don’t know if I want to go.” It was Malcolm’s choice, and it was James’ choice too. James wanted to race and Malcolm was like, “All right, I’ll go to Loretta’s. I’ll do it.” Then after that, he said, “I’m going to take off for a little bit.”

Vital MX: How was Big James as a moto dad? Was he pretty gnarly?

Sonya: Big James is Big James. Everybody knows Big James. As a moto dad, they want their kid to be the best and he was that guy that said, “Hey, listen, I know what you can do, so you need to do it. I see what you’re capable of doing.” When you’re around from the beginning, you know what your kid can do. People don’t see that part because it’s not their kid. They just see when the kid shows up.

Vital MX: You mentioned Malcolm liking to fish and James being very consumed with the sport. Did you find it important to try to show them other sports or other hobbies just to make sure they had outside interests?

Sonya: To be honest, no. We didn’t have the money. Whatever sport you want to do, that’s it. With little James, it was to the point where I knew racing was what he wanted to do and that was it. I didn’t try to take him away from the racing because that’s what his passion was. Malcolm, on the other hand, I couldn’t figure out what Malcolm wanted to do. Malcolm didn’t try any other sports. I guess you can say karate is a sport. He did that a little bit, but then he was over it. I think a lot has to do with the fact that we had so many pit bikes and dirt bikes here. He couldn’t make up his mind about what he wanted to do it. As far as school sports, like basketball and football, he never was interested in those.

Vital MX: When did you realize how special James was on a dirt bike?

Sonya: I’m going to say when we took him to Dade City, and we let him race, and he literally cried the whole way around the track because his bike was not fast enough. He felt this bike wasn’t fast enough. I was like, “Dude, he wants to go faster.” He knows no other way. I said, “Your bike is already fast.” When he started crying every time, his dad was like, “I have to turn this bike up.” I knew there was something about it.

Vital MX: Do you remember what age that was?

Sonya: He was still pretty much in diapers. So, three and a half.

Vial MX: With a kid like James, with the hype he had coming up, there’s a lot of pressure. For a kid to have that pressure of being expected to win by his sponsors, did that bother you as a mother?

Sonya: Yeah, it did because, to me, I felt the kid should be able to grow still. What was happening is that the sponsors, as you said, are pushing them. Everybody expects them to win and you’re on national TV. You hear the good, and you hear the bad. You may hear them cheering for you, or you hear them booing. That can have an effect on younger kids at that age. I did worry about that a lot.

Vital MX: For a little kid, that could be so damaging. You have to be protective as a parent and as a mother.

Sonya: Yeah. They have to be there for them. I always say when you first go pro coming out of amateurs, and there is a lot of hype around you, you have to have a very strong family. 100%. Because this sport will make you or break you, the parents are expecting so much from you because the sponsors are hyping everything up. That’s all I can say. You have to have a strong family.

Vital MX: Being an African American family in what is primarily a white-dominated sport, did you deal with any negativity, or was it pretty accepting?

Sonya: I dealt with some negativity. I’m sure some people have clips of this stuff that happened as the kids grew up. Certain parts were difficult, and certain parts weren’t. You do your own thing and you don’t get caught up in any negativity. I do remember a story. I wasn’t with them, but he took little James somewhere up north or whatever. Big James pretty much said the guy said, “You don’t belong here”, and Big James asks, “What do you mean I don’t belong here?” “You don’t belong in the sport.” Big James said, “Well, we’re racing anyway”, and look where we’re at right now.

Vital MX: How much did it mean to you that Malcolm and James could be role models for other African American kids to come to the sport? 

Sonya: It means a lot to me. It means a lot to them both as well. Malcolm gets a lot of instant messages saying, “Hey, we’re coming to your race. Is there any way you can talk to my kid?” and 90% of those are black, African Americans. Big James gets it just as much as Malcolm does. Little James gets it also, but he doesn’t really tell me about it as much as Big James and Malcolm. I do get a lot of moms who ask me the same thing—being an African American. “What do you think we should do? It’s so hard for us to get in.” I hear that a lot.

Vital MX: Seeing the fans and the explosion of cheers that has to make your heart swell when you’re in the stadium and you hear that for your sons.

Sonya: Yeah, it does. Lately, with Malcolm, there have been a lot of cheers more and more. When little James was racing, there was a lot of cheers for that as well.

Vital MX: Dealing with injuries; I want to talk about that because Malcolm is currently injured with the knee. He just had surgery recently. You’re helping take care of him. You’ve seen the boys deal with injuries. Has that gotten any easier for you as the mom?

Sonya: Yes, it actually has. Now there’s so much new technology out there, and with them being older, I think they can take care of their body much better than when they were young. There wasn’t as much technology back then. When you break a bone like Malcolm broke his femur, I thought he would be in a full cast, but they don’t cast it anymore. They put a rod in, and you’re up walking on it the next day because they want you to do therapy. So, it’s easier on that part.

Vital MX: You told me you’ve been helping him during his recovery. You still get to play mom to him a bit.

Sonya: He’s in therapy right now. When he first got home, my couch was my bed. I slept in the bed for the first two nights. From then on for the first week, I was on the couch. I was the on-call nurse. He would text me and say, “Hey, Mom, are you up? I have to go pee.” Of course, Big James is there too, but Big James left me. He just went to bed. He does that when the grandkids are here, he does the exact same thing. He leaves me up with it. So, I took care of him. We both went to therapy with him and I sat down with them every time they were doing therapy on his knee. I knew once we got back to Florida; we were going to have to keep doing the same process until we actually found the right therapist for his knee. So, I massaged it and helped with everything, and I’m still doing it on his off days.

Vital MX: Isn’t it funny how these big, tough racers, these men, are all such sissies when we’re sick or hurt?

Sonya: Oh yeah. Big James is the worst. He is the worst. Oh, my God. It’s funny, I always sat there with these kids that race motocross, and you’re like, “You just broke your bone.” Me, personally, I’d say, ‘Uhuh, I’m out.” It’s crazy how they deal with it, how they deal with the pain. With Malcolm, it’s not the breaking of the bone. Do you know what it is? It’s stitches. He literally will start hyperventilating if you have to pull stitches out. When we had to follow up with the doctor, the stitches were dissolvable on the inside. There were a couple on the outside and Malcolm’s looking at it, and I’m watching Malcolm, and I literally thought I saw sweat popping up on his forehead. I asked, “Are you okay?” He’s like, “No, I’m not.” The guy was like, “Do you want me to get you some water?” I said, “Please give him something because he’s going to pass out here.” Malcolm asked the doctor, “Do you have to pull these out?” He’s said, “No. We’re just clipping the ends. That’s it. Everything else is done.” Malcolm said, “Oh, thank you.” 

Vital MX: How surprised were you that Malcolm decided to go pro in motocross? 

Sonya: Yeah, I really was. He took off a few years from racing and then he got back in. Then he took off again. I said, “Hey, dude, what are you going to do?” I was just shocked when he finally made up his mind and said, “All right, I’m getting serious. I’m going to go racing.” It was the idea that he saw his brother. He was going to the races, and he felt it would be better to go ahead and just put his whole effort into it.

Vital MX: He’s been so close to getting a win. I can’t wait.

Sonya: I know. He’s working hard and people only see him once he shows up to the race. They don’t see the dedication that he puts in. What eats me away is if he posts a picture of him fishing, people say, “You should be out there riding and racing or training instead of fishing.” You also have to think about it. He might have done that a week ago, three weeks ago. He’s also sponsored by Abu Garcia fishing poles and has to post so many posts. People don’t understand that. Most of these other guys play golf because you have to get your mind off of it for just a little bit. That’s Malcolm’s peaceful place. Trust me, when Malcolm’s in boot camp, he isn’t fishing. I leave it alone and let everybody have their own opinion. You can’t argue with stupid.

Vital MX: What are you most proud of with the boys?

Sonya: There is a lot. With James, I am actually proud of whom he became and the way he carried himself in sports—also getting into the Hall of Fame. I’m really proud of that. With Malcolm, number one, of course, he won the 2016 Supercross 250 championship. I’m proud of him for that because there were so many things going wrong, crashing, and he just had to regroup. After we had those few weeks off, he was able to regroup and come back swinging because he knew that’s what his goal was.

Vital MX: What about some fondest memories? A couple of memories that stand out watching the boys growing up.

Sonya: Going to Loretta Lynn’s. Not Loretta Lynn’s in particular. Those moments were memories that will never be erased. We always stopped at Stone Mountain, and then we stopped at a little go-cart place up there in Georgia. That would be our mini vacation before we got to Loretta’s. I remember going there every time, and the kids loved it. Another thing to add, when they were adults, I remember them throwing my 45th surprise birthday party. I don’t know how they pulled that one off, but just seeing them just when they did it, I just started crying. I was like, “Oh my God,” everybody was there. Every friend I could think of and all my family. Those are my fondest memories, though.

Vital MX: How do you feel about James coming back? Because he did disappear for a while from the sport, and now, he’s doing the podcast. He’s doing TV. We see him in pictures with Ricky, and it blows my mind that he seems to be friends with Chad Reed. I would have never bet money that would happen. How do you feel?

Sonya: See, that’s the crazy part. They weren’t enemies. It’s a racing thing, you know? Some of the people racing now don’t like each other, but they still have respect for each other. As far as James coming back to the sport after years, I knew he needed to take off and regroup himself. His doing that really helped him 100%. Him doing that podcast, even the first time he did it; I honestly can sit here and say I didn’t think he would continue doing it. I really didn’t. Then it just kept going, and I was like, “Okay.” Now he’s commentating on NBC, but he needed that time off.

Vital MX: Do you look back on the Bubba’s World show with any regrets?

Sonya: I don’t regret it. James wanted to do it, so, obviously, we had to do it. In order to do it, you have to have the whole family in it. Some of the stuff was staged. Some stuff actually happened. It was fun in some spots, and then some stuff wasn’t fun. For instance, with this conversation, if it were Bubba’s World, they would ask, “Hey, can we listen in on your conversation” or “Could you repeat that all over again?” How can you repeat the same thing that you just said? It’s not that often you do that, right? I’m going to say it was all right. Even when I graduated, they had me graduating as an interior designer or something like that. The graduation was right, but I graduated as an accountant. It was totally two opposite things. If you look back at the graduation, I was so embarrassed because my family really was acting like they were two-year-old kids out there, throwing confetti and blowing these little things and all that. It was hilarious. I was saying, “I don’t know those people.”