Stewart probably out for season

The supercross title chase abruptly shifted Saturday when reigning champion James Stewart re-injured his left knee in practice and said he probably would miss the rest of the season.

The announcement came shortly before the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series race at Angel Stadium. With Stewart on the sidelines, Yamaha’s Chad Reed easily won the 20-lap main event in front of more than 40,000.

Reed, the 2004 series title winner, led from the start and beat second-place Joshua Hill by nearly seven seconds. Kevin Windham was third.

“It’s a shame James got hurt,” Reed said. “Hopefully he gets back as quick as possible.”

Reed also won the season-opening race in Anaheim two weeks ago, and the Australian now leads the series championship standings with 72 points.

Stewart, 22, first injured his knee in a race last summer and aggravated it again in practice Dec. 20.

The Floridian said he thought the injury had healed when he began this season. He finished second to Reed two weeks ago, then won last week at Chase Field in Phoenix.

But he felt the knee give way in Phoenix and again in practice Saturday, he said.

“It’s to the point where I can’t put my foot down,” said the Kawasaki rider, who dominated last year with 13 victories.

“The only thing to do is get [the knee] fixed, because I’ve been fighting it and it’s not getting better,” he said.

Stewart said he probably would miss most, if not all, of the remaining 14 races in the supercross season but hoped to be healthy by the start of the motocross season May 25 at Glen Helen Raceway in Devore. (Supercross is the stadium version of motocross off-road motorcycle racing.)

He declined to specify the exact injury but said he would undergo tests Monday to determine the medical treatment he needs.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “I’ve put way too much work into it to have this happen.” But he added that “I’ve just been fighting it every weekend. I’m not even close to riding as good as I can.”

Saturday night’s race was the second of three races held early each season at Angel Stadium. The final one is Feb. 2.

In the series’ second-tier class, Supercross Lites, Ryan Dungey of Belle Plaine, Minn., won on a Suzuki, just as he did two weeks ago in Anaheim.

The races had a retro theme celebrating the 1986 race in Anaheim, which set the stage for modern supercross’ popularity.

That race featured a pitched battle between David Bailey and Rick Johnson, with Bailey winning, and the AMA used that year’s track layout for Saturday’s race.

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james.peltz@latimes.com