There's a fairly decent chance that Miguel DuHamel's accomplishments will never get the respect they deserve in some corners.

Maybe it's because some people have short memories, or no memories, or no appreciation for what he's done. Or maybe it's because there have been so many classic accomplishments, many more than any other rider in the paddock, that some are just lost trying to keep track.

After all, who else has won on the Suzuki, the Kawasaki, the Honda, led races on the Harley, qualified the VR 1000 on the front row, beat Scott Russell at Daytona, won the 600 and Superbike championships in the same season, won the Daytona 200 and 600 races (back when the latter meant something) on the same wekeend, won the Superbike title on a bike so bad Australian Kevin Magee refused to ride it, beat Ducati-mounted Anthony Gobert at Road Atlanta with a pass that will stand for the ages, won Daytona with a broken leg, beat future GP star Nicky Hayden at Road America and just when some thought he might be thinking retirement, DuHamel went on a winning streak which culminated with a gloves-off fight for the FX title with Jake Zemke. Which he won.

And if those accomplishments aren't enough, along the way DuHamel did something no other has done in the top level of US racing: he won three nationals in one day--three races in a six hour period, in fact. The list of people who have never done that in America start before Bart Markel, settle into a trend with Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, John Kocinski and Wayne Rainey, and continue on with Fred Merkel, Bubba Shobert and Kevin Schwantz.

Coincidentally the place DuHamel scored the three wins in six or so hours is the place the US Superbike series is visiting this weekend: VIR.

'04 VIR Images
Photos of DuHamel's storied VIR weekend are here and here.

Miguel's illustrious career has seen some great race days, but this may have been the best. In a single day, the Canadian won two Superbike races and a Formula Extreme event, something that hadn't been done in the modern era. Miguel had won three races in a weekend before, but never on a single day.

The 2004 VIR weekend was shortened to two days that season -- one that saw Suzuki's Mat Mladin win the Superbike championship over DuHamel and fellow Honda rider Jake Zemke in a very competitive season. DuHamel, who trailed Mladin in all-time Superbike wins 32-30 going into the weekend after the two traded the lead all summer, must have felt he had something to prove.

To kick off the short weekend, DuHamel set the Superbike pole over Mladin with a late session lap on Saturday.

On a Sunday race-a-thon, Miguel fought with Yates and Mladin for the win before Mladin ran off course. DuHamel then passed Yates on the final lap to win the race by a scant 0.126. Miguel also beat factory Ducati pilots Regis Laconi and Lorenzo Lanzi, two riders the Italian factory sent over from Europe to contest the race.

With Mladin clinching the championship courtesy his sixth place in the first race, the second would be a pure test of speed. DuHamel passed Yates before halfway to win by seven seconds in the final race of the year. Miguel pulled even with Mladin in the all-time win Superbike win list to end the season.

Although DuHamel couldn't top Mladin in points, he finished on the podium 15 of 18 times in 2004, winning six times in Superbike.

If two victories for the day weren't enough to pad the legend of DuHamel, the Canadian (who has lived in the US for the last 15 years) celebrated the Formula Extreme championship that he clinched in Atlanta with yet another victory in that class. He won his eighth FX victory of the year by four seconds that day.

And to add a human touch to a record-setting day, DuHamel dedicated the weekend to a cancer victim he met at the track.