I bet you didn’t even see it.

This past Father’s Day, 2003, something remarkable happened in the little town of Budds Creek, Maryland. The sun came out (remarkable in itself, as the entire region had been literally flooded with rain for weeks), and James Stewart, Jr. raced his first National Motocross race for 2003.

Why is that remarkable? Well, it wasn’t the fact that he was racing, or the fact that it was only his first race of the season after sitting out the first four rounds with a broken collarbone. What was absolutely remarkable was the manner in which he devastated his competition to finish the day with a perfect 1-1 score. I wasn’t there, but I read enough of the “remarks” on the internet and in Cycle News to know that what James did that day was nothing short of amazing. Or remarkable.

According to the reports, the 17-year-old phenomenon blasted away from the pack and rode off to a dominant 45-second lead in the first moto, absolutely demoralizing everyone else in the 125 class. Then, after falling in the first turn and tangling with another rider, James finally got going in next to last (37th place!) and charged through the pack to convincingly win the second moto. Some of the most experience journalists in motocross have been quoted as saying they have never seen anyone ride a 125 that fast.

How fast was James on Father’s Day? According to the stop watches, James set the fastest lap of the day, even faster than superstar Ricky Carmichael, who was the dominant force in the 250 class! Somehow, young Mr. Stewart was able to will his 38-horspower Kawasaki around the Budds Creek circuit faster than Carmichael’s 50-horsepower Honda. Yep, that is indeed remarkable.

Go James!