DU QUOIN - At the ripe old age of 13, Levi Mayer is a motorcycle racing veteran.

The Carbondale youth began riding a little 50cc cycle and by 8 was racing a Kawasaki KX60. Now, his competition cycle of choice is a YamahaYZ250F. Racing comes natural for the teen since his father Dallas has been racing for years, he said.

Back in the 1980s, Dallas was a professional dirt track racer, his son is proud to say. Now, he competes in the senior and vet classes on his Honda CRF450. Levi hopes to someday reach the pro ranks himself and is pleased to say he took fifth place in last year's American Motorcycles Association Dirt Track Grand Championships.

This year, the father and son are excited to be among the large group of competitors at the AMA Championships Sunday through July 9 at the Du Quoin State Fairground.

"I like how fast you get going," Levi said. "With racing it's all about who can go the fastest and that's what I like to do."

Levi's favorite event is the half-mile race while his father favors TT. The TT race is actually held on the half-mile track, which will be reworked for that particular event so some of the racing is actually inside the track since the TT features a small jump and right hand turn. The other races are all about circling fast with all left corners.

"I'm really excited this year because the thing I hate about racing is traveling because I get bored," Levi said. "This year I can come back and sleep in my own bed at night. We have a lot of friends and family that are going to come watch too with it so close."

Indeed, the weeklong motorcycle racing event has already drawn 151 early entrants with more than 1,000 pre-entries. That's expected to double by the time the starting flag waves, said Cherie Schlatter, AMA Sports Off Road Coordinator and lead administrator for the Grand Championships.

She anticipates at least 500 entrants and immediate family members will be on hand for the week of racing that's open to the public with large crowds of visitors anticipated. Practice each day begins at 9 a.m. and Schlatter said it's likely by 3 p.m. daily visitors can view semi or main event action. The pit pass tickets are just $10 per day with children younger than 3 admitted free.

Du Quoin will offer a wide variety of racing, Schlatter said. Competition will be inside the Southern Illinois Center July 2 and 3 and then moves to the half-mile track July 4 through 7 before wrapping up on the mile track July 8.

That's seven days packed with short track, half-mile, mile and TT racing with classes ranging from the little 50CC bikes to the pro-sports 505CC, said Assistant Du Quoin State Fair Manager Norm Hill.

"It's an exciting event," Hill said. "There are bikes coming here from as far away as California and from all over the United States. It's going to be quite an event. It's going to be really thrilling for the public to come watch, too."

"One of the great features of the event is the second half of Sunday which will feature Speedway racing," said Douglas Neubauer, AMA Sports vice president. "I believe this is the only speedway racing to take place on the dirt in the state of Illinois. These are 500cc motorcycles on a mountain bike style bike that burn methanol instead of regular gas. Did I mention they have NO brakes? These bikes are some of the wildest rides you will ever see as the riders hang the bike all out to slide it through the corner at full throttle. The event is a qualifier for a guaranteed seat at the AMA National Speedway Series which happens in the fall in California."

The recent AMA newsletter proclaims the Du Quoin races will feature the "fastest amateur dirt track racers on the planet."

Neubauer notes there will be a number of riders worth watching in Du Quoin in the coming week. Jason Griffin is a one-armed rider who recently began competing in flat track events finishing strong at the recent Winter Short Track Nationals.

Kole King, nephew of legendary Rick King, wears the family colors of orange and black while local competitor Molly Terry is one of the females who loves competing against the guys and does it well.

Nick McFadden is just 9 but already "has a ton of wins under his belt," Neubauer said. McFadden is connected with motorcycle racing legends - the Hayden brothers, well-known professional road racers in the USA and World Moto GP.

Others worth watching who are slated to compete in Perry County include last year's Youth Dirt Tracker of the Year P.J. Jacobsen and James "Rocket" Rispoli, son of Cool Skunk Racing founder. Rispoli is trying for the AMA Horizon Award this year and has quite a comedic reputation.

Stevie Bonsey was last year's Horizon Award winner and returns as an AMA Pro Sport rider, the lone cash-paying group. The Horizon Award is the most prestigious award given by AMA Sports, Neubauer said, with many of those pursuing the award competing at Du Quoin.

Overall Grand Championship awards will be awarded at the end of the week for each of the four styles of racing in each of the competition classes. In addition, the Youth Dirt Tracker of the Year and the Vet/Senior Dirt Tracker of the Year will be announced.

Schlatter said there are two different groups of competitors. Group 1 features the youth riders, ages 4-15 on smaller bikes. Group 2 races on larger bikes and includes riders from age 14 to about 80.

"They'll compete every day for individual awards and at the end of the week we'll award the Grand Championships," Schlatter said.

Everyone will run all four events except the youth riders will substitute a different short track race for the mile racing. Schlatter said for most of the participants, the Championships are a major event, typically the family vacation for the year, and the event itself is very much about that camaraderie.

"It's very family oriented," Schlatter said. She said they'll event celebrate Independence Day in style with a barbecue cookout, games, dunk tank and more on July 4.

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