Tonight: Motocross at fair

A rider soars in the air at a 2009 arena cross event in Oklahoma City.

Motorcyclists performing tricks high in the air, zipping around corners on a mile-long dirt course of bumps and dips at 50 to 60 mph—this is motocross.

Today's county fair arena cross event starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Mounted Patrol arena near the Curry County Fairgrounds. The event also starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

"We've become kind of the headlining act on Friday and Saturday night and it's just great because Clovis supports us well," said event coordinator Tod Hammock, who has put on a motorcross event at the county fair for at least 10 years.

"For the size of this town, motorcross racing is a very active sport."

Motocross legend Cowboy Kenny Bartram will perform in a 15-minute freestyle show around 9 p.m. He is performing in the county fair for the second year.

Bartram will ride a KTM 250 CC two-stroke dirt bike today and Saturday. He said he'll perform 15 to 20 aerial tricks such as the back flip, the superman seat grab, the cliffhanger and the whip.

During the superman seat grab, a rider hangs off the tail end of the bike; during a cliffhanger a rider hangs by the handle bars above the bike.

"One of my favorites and kind of one of the flashier ones is the whip," Bartram said. "In this trick you flatten the bike out in the air and straighten it back out. You're actually kind of laid out flat with it."

Bartram said he will do a couple variations of the back flip, one of the riskier tricks.

According to Hammock, the track has more than 100 bumps of various sizes. There are about three to four large jumps used for aerial tricks. Hammock said the event will include local racers. Professionals will race for a $5,000 cash prize.

"If you've never been to a Motorcross event you can expect to see lots of action," Hammocks said.