When do you stop calling someone a bright newcomer and start calling him one of the major players in the sport? And when a rider moves even further along, when do you begin calling him a seasoned veteran? With Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Josh Grant, it’s as if he’s shot straight from novice to veteran, and the fact’s not lost on him.

By any measure, Grant’s had an extraordinary career to date. Just 21 years old now, he turned pro in 2005, and in 2006 he had a spectacular season: He finished third in the Eastern division of the Supercross Lites series and also finished third in the Motocross Lites series on his Honda CRF250R. But Grant’s also learned that in the big leagues, the pitches come at you awfully fast. Last year, he had a season most riders who gate at a national would have envied, yet for Grant it was rocked by highs and lows. The outcome itself is really of less interest than the way Grant talks about it—although Grant’s record speaks for itself. In 2007, despite early-season injuries, Grant finished seventh overall in the West Supercross Lites division, standing on the podium three times and finishing fourth once.

“The Supercross season didn’t go as I thought it would. I had a really good race at Vegas for the U.S. Open, and I went back to Bercy to race in France and won the Genoa Supercross race in Italy. So I thought it was going to be a really good season in 2007. I put my head down and did all the work I could do. But I think I might’ve just started too early preparing for the Supercross season. I had four months to get ready before Anaheim, and I used those four months up. I think it was almost too much, to the point where I started going back down or tapering down and just made a few mistakes. In the first round at Anaheim, I crashed in practice and ended up having a broken rib and a collapsed lung and still tried to race. I went into Phoenix and had another crash in the whoops; I was just really struggling those first two races. I knew the championship was done once I crashed at Phoenix, so I decided to keep safe and focus on the outdoor season.”

Broken rib? Collapsed lung? That would land most humans in an emergency room and then on a couch for weeks, not on the starting line for a Supercross national. But Grant is that dedicated—not in a fanatical way, but in a complete devotion to riding and giving it his all. “I have a really big heart for this sport, and I felt I would do anything I could to go out and race in Anaheim.”

Grant took the long view, knowing he was forced to sacrifice his 2007 Supercross season to concentrate on the outdoor MX nationals. And it’s here that he really starts to sound like the seasoned vet. “I’ve noticed I’ve calmed down a lot—not getting so excited or anxious, not making passes I shouldn’t—and am focusing on the race and on myself. You’ve got to learn to pick your fights. And I would just say that I did a really good job of that in 2007 and even the year before.”

Grant’s Motocross Lites season is where he really got to show his stuff, though. This is an extraordinarily competitive class, and Grant finished in a solid third place on his Honda CRF250R, despite some troubles toward the end of the season. With one win, two third-place finishes and a total of eight top-five finishes, Grant was clearly a contender all season long.

One place where Grant thinks he has a big advantage is with his CRF250R. “I enjoy everything about the Honda. I’ve ridden Hondas since I was 14 years old. I’ve always loved the bikes, and I feel really comfortable on them. Even when I go out into the hills and free-ride, the CRF250R is very comfortable for me. I can throw it around, whip it, whatever. It’s all good.”

In a world where his teammate Trey Canard is just 17, a 21-year-old can start looking long in the tooth. But for Grant, that’s not age he’s feeling—it’s wisdom. “I grew up around older people and was home-schooled, so I just feel like I’m much more mature than a normal 21-year-old. And I think that’s moved over into my racing too.”

With three seasons of national experience under his belt, a year where he was knocking hard on the championship’s door, and a high level of maturity, young veteran Josh Grant has everything in place to score big in 2008.