Hunter Stephens hoped to come home from the BMX Grand Nationals in Louisville, Ky., with a trophy taller than he is, but the 11-year-old brought back a whopper of a story instead.

The Fredericksburg rider, who won a national championship last year, had almost finished his second race Sept. 5 when he was involved in a freak accident.

Another rider bumped into him, causing him to fall forward against his handlebars. His bike smacked into a wooden stake that had been hammered into the ground.

By the time his father, Paul, got to him, Hunter's left arm was flung over his head--with a wooden stake sticking through it. He couldn't move.

People later told Hunter that if he hadn't zoomed over his handlebars like Superman, the stick might have stuck him in the neck.

Paul, who said later that he was more traumatized than his son, was amazed by Hunter's initial composure.

"Hunter was real calm," he said. "He said, 'I have a pain in my arm.'"

Paul is thankful that Hunter couldn't see the way his arm was positioned. When rescue workers cut away his jersey--he grimaced with every snip of the $65 shirt--Paul could see muscle and fatty tissue.

There wasn't much blood, Paul said, because the muscle seemed to be closing around the wound.

Most of the wood came out when Hunter was lifted off the stake. When someone mentioned the need for stitches, Hunter lost his cool.

"He was a basket case," Paul said.

His father wasn't much better.

An EMT suggested that Paul drive to nearby Kosair Children's Hospital because all of the ambulances at the Grand Nationals were tied up with other patients.

Normally, Paul's sense of direction is better than any navigation system, said his wife, Cassie, who was in Virginia that weekend.

Paul missed his exit several times, driving around in circles. He has no idea how long it took them to get to the hospital or how fast he drove.

Hunter was whisked into a private room as soon as emergency-room workers realized he was the one who had been impaled.

Doctors eventually removed wood splinters and sewed up his arm with 10 or 11 stitches. Paul would like to be more specific, but he just can't remember the details.

Hunter's team, Hines Brothers Racing, won a national title, so Hunter will get a massive trophy for being part of the victory.

But he didn't get the chance to defend his national title, and he's not sure how many state and regional races he'll miss as he recovers.

Doctors said he could be out of commission for as long as seven weeks, but there should be no permanent damage.

Less than a week after the crash, Hunter was crawling around the floor on his good arm. He started middle school two days after the accident.

Parents and track officials have posted comments online about the risk of having individual wooden stakes with signs on them around the track.

That was the setup in Louisville, but it isn't typical for BMX courses, the family said.

Hunter doesn't want to be around any more wooden stakes, but he doesn't plan to slow down.

"I'm gonna race my race," he said. "It wasn't the bike's fault."