Stewart picks up top-rider torch

Ricky Carmichael’s heir apparent as supercross racing’s top rider is James Stewart, which Stewart proved again Saturday night by winning the season’s opening U.S. event and spoiling Carmichael’s last hurrah in Anaheim.

The two swapped the lead several times in the opening half of the 20-lap main event of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross race, but Carmichael tumbled on Lap 13 and Stewart took the lead for good on his Kawasaki.

Carmichael finished second for Team Makita Suzuki, more than 10 seconds behind, before a near-capacity crowd of 45,000. Chad Reed was third for Yamaha despite an injured shoulder.

Carmichael has won five supercross titles and seven consecutive 250cc motocross crowns. (Supercross is the stadium version of motocross off-road racing.) But he is running a partial schedule this year as he tries to become a stock car driver, and said Saturday’s race would be his last at Angel Stadium.

“The bottom line is James is better than me,” Carmichael said, adding that he “kept messing up” as he tried to catch Stewart. “That’s what happens when you’re on the edge, you fall down.”

Stewart himself fell on Lap 5 but quickly jumped back up to stay in the race.

In the series’ lower class, called Supercross Lites, Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto passed teammate Christophe Pourcel to win the 15-lap main event.

Both series return to Angel Stadium on Jan. 20 and again Feb. 3. The stadium is transformed for supercross with 1.5 million pounds of dirt trucked in and spread over the diamond’s infield.

james.peltz@latimes.com