"He beat me by 30 points," said a still dumbstruck Weir afterward. "He didn't just beat me, he kicked my [butt].
"But I'm proud our U.S. champion did so well," Weir added. "I know how well I skated the last three years, and I wouldn't have wanted to be beaten by something that was subpar."
Lysacek, who had never successfully landed a quadruple jump, completed one early in his 4 1/2-minute program, and used that most difficult of elements as a springboard to a brilliant free skate.
The 21-year-old California, who led Weir by less than a point after the short program, actually wound up beating his rival by more than 35 points. He scored an astounding 169.89 points in the long program, where his previous best was a 152.58. And his total of 248.88 exceeded his personal mark by nearly 25 points.
"Hopefully," Lysacek said, "the scoring will be the same at worlds. You never know about [mark] inflation at nationals."
Lysacek's total left him nearly 30 points ahead of runner-up Ryan Bradley (219.21), second in the free skate. Weir, with yet another substandard free skate, finished fourth in that category and slipped back to third place with a score of 213.20.
Those three will compete in March's 2007 World Championships in Tokyo.
"Johnny Weir was on top of skating in this country," said Lysacek, a much more subdued personality than the man he replaced. "You don't dethrone him by skating tentatively. You go out and you fight with passion."
With his lopsided victory, Lysacek, who had finished third and second the last two years, catapulted himself into a favorite's position for Tokyo. There, as part of the American contingent with Weir and Bradley, he will attempt to become the first U.S. male to win since Todd Eldredge in 1996.
"It's hard to put into words how badly I wanted to come here and win this," said the suddenly bold and confident Lysacek.
