PETROLIA — A racing natural at age 6?

Don't knock it.

Kaverick Stewart might be it.

Kaverick, a Petrolia resident and upcoming first-grader at Sugarcreek Elementary School, recently won the Mideast Regional motocross qualifier at Briarcliff MX in Nashport, Ohio in the age 4-6 division.

That qualified him for the the Loretta Lynn AMA Amateur Nationals, slated for Aug. 2-7 in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

Kaverick has taken to motocross racing almost from the moment he first jumped on a dirtbike and took off.

“That was in a buddy's open field about a year ago,” his father, Kyle Stewart, said. “A close friend of mine gave me a dirtbike he had when Kaverick was a baby, figuring he might want to ride it someday.

“That bike has been sitting around the past few years. He (Kaverick) had been bugging me to let him ride it for a couple of years. Finally, last year, I did. Once I took the training wheels off, he just flew on the thing.

“A bunch of people started telling me to get him involved in racing. He looks like a natural. I don't know where he's getting this from. His mother (Ceanca Everetts of Fairview) and I never rode those bikes. We have no background in it at all,” Stewart added.

The only knowledge they've gained in the sport is by watching their son compete.

His first-ever race was at Switchback MX in Butler. He races at Switchback and Pymatuning Holeshot Raceway regularly. Kaverick was the overall champion of the indoor series at Switchback this past winter.

This year, Stewart said the family focused on bigger AMA races in an attempt to qualify Kaverick for Loretta Lynn Nationals.

“We've been up and down the east coast this year, racing in Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey ... it's been crazy,” Stewart said.

Kaverick competed in the Northeast Regional at Pleasure Valley — qualifying to do so through a Northeast Area race — but did not qualify for nationals. That's when the family decided to go for the Mideast Regional in Ohio.

Kaverick rides a 2020 Yamaha pw50, a nationally-built product by Cyclewrx Racing out of Alabama. At 3 horsepower, the bike's speed maxes out at approximately 20 miles per hour.

“It's a high-quality bike,” Stewart said. “Kaverick is serious about this and we're supporting him. We haven't forced him into any of this. In fact, every day, we ask him if he's tired, if he needs a break from it.

“Even on days he says he needs a break, he winds up going out on the bike anyway. He formally trains two or three days a week for two hours each time.”

Kaverick is trained by Tyler Martin— a Parker resident who turned pro in motocross a year after placing ninth at Loretta Lynn Nationals in 2011. The Stewart family also uses Mike Jones and Steve Roman's mx school.

Martin sees major potential in Kaverick.

“I work with 65 riders and Kaverick is the youngest,” Martin said. “Yet he's second-fastest on the track.

“This kid has the want. He wants to win championships. He knows how to ride, how to maneuver. He's confident and competitive.”

Kaverick will be one of 42 riders in his division at Loretta Lynn Nationals.

“I see no reason why he can't go down there and win the thing,” Martin said. “The big thing will be heat acclimation. It gets very hot down there in August. With humidity, I remember it feeling like 132 degrees.

“We're gonna work with him on conditioning for that, but there's only so much you can do in that area with a 6-year-old.”

Regardless of how the nationals go, don't expect Kaverick to give up on motocross anytime soon.

“There is not a day he's not on his dirtbike riding,” Stewart said. “Many nights he has slept in his riding gear. He loves this.”