Famed riders return to town

Some of the top motorcycle riders in the country will speed into LA Raceway on Saturday night.

“It’s not a Grand National event. ... but it gets a lot of guys on the track for the first time,” race promoter Rick Yeager said of the American Motorcyclist Association Preseason Opener.

The race returns to Pettis County for the 13th time. The series raced at Sedalia until 2006 when the races shifted to LA Raceway.

The event will feature the 450cc pro class and a vintage support class, which highlights bikes at least 25 years old with 600cc engines or larger.

Kenny Coolbeth, Sam Halbert, Jake Johnson, Aaron King, Rich King, Joe Kopp, Jared Mees and J.R. Schnabel are among the well-known riders expected to compete.

Johnson won the 2006 Grand National singles championship and finished second last year. He placed fourth for the Grand National twins title in 2007.

He started this season on a winning note, taking the Grand National singles race March 5 at Daytona, Fla.

The series’ next points race will be May 24-25 in Springfield, Ill.

Coolbeth, of Morris, Conn.,  won both the singles and twins titles last season, repeating as the twins champ.

Halbert, the defending race champion from  Graham, Wash., finished seventh in Grand National singles in 2007 in only his fourth year as a professional.

Kopp, a Mica, Wash., native, who has been racing professionally since 1991, won the Grand National championship in 2000.

Jared Mees, of Clio, Mich., has yet to race in an official Grand National event this season while recovering from knee surgery.

Mees placed second in the Grand Nationals twins class in 2006 and 2007.

Schnabel, of Campbellsport, Wis., who has been racing professionally since 1995, has finished in the top 10 in the Grand National circuit in every year since 2003.

 Rich King, of Dysart, Iowa., who turned pro in 1980, won the Sedalia race in 1999 and 2002 and was the Grand National runner-up in 1995, 1999 and 2001.

King’s son, Aaron, of Dysart, finished second in the AMA 505 pro Hot Shoe class as a rookie. He is still searching for his first Grand National win, but he earned two top-10 finishes in 2007.

Gates will open Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Practice will start at 5 p.m. and racing is set for 6 p.m.

Tickets cost $18 for general admission. Children 10 and younger will be admitted for free. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Yeager’s Cycle Sales, 3001 S. Limit Ave. or at the gate on race night.