RAPID CITY - Ryan Logan says it's about time he retired from freestyle motocross jumping and tried something a little more grounded - like dirt-track auto racing.

Logan, 22, of Rapid City, has been a traveling professional freestyle motocrosser for the past five years.

"I've traveled the world. I've been from the East Coast to the West Coast several times," Logan said. He's performed in Canada and Mexico and just returned from two months in Japan.

Now he's decided to park the motorcycle and climb into a Wissota B-Modified for his first stint behind the wheel at Black Hills Speedway this summer, but not before one last freestyle jumping performance during the TNT Monster Truck Steel Thunder Tour appearance April 11 at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

"This is pretty much my announced retirement show," said Logan.

Logan has been riding motorcycles since age 4 and began racing motocross not long after that.

He found racing success both locally with the South Dakota Motocross Association and while living in Minnesota, then switched to the more entertainment-oriented world of freestyle motocross, performing aerial stunts aboard a Yamaha 250ZX.

The racing was "getting to be too much," he said, and the switch to freestyle dove-tailed nicely with his love of big air.

"I've always liked the jumping. That was my favorite part. It just was natural for me," he said.

But Logan has devoted 15 years to what can be a very physical sport. The pounding has taken its toll.

"I've had seven operations," said Logan. "My body's taken enough abuse."

So Logan will settle down in Rapid City while feeding the need for speed by transitioning to auto racing with the help of his father, longtime off-road and oval-track racer Gary Logan.

They bought a Wissota Midwest Modified from a racer in Minnesota and are looking forward to joining a crowded field of more than 30 cars expected at BHS this season.

"I grew up at the speedway," Ryan said. "I hope it gets back to where there's 5,000 people there every night."

Ryan climbed into a stock car last year for an exhibition run at I-80 Speedway near Omaha, Neb., but is expecting a steep learning curve racing four wheels.

"I just want to stay out of trouble," he said.

Gary said learning the mechanical side of a completely different machine will be Ryan's biggest challenge.

"He'll need to learn to identify what the car is doing," Gary said.

But that will come later. On April 11, he'll take his final curtain call on a motorcycle, joined by Rapid City freestyler James Carter, and a team of four riders from Arizona. Logan has performed just once in Rapid City before, and is looking forward to making his final jumps in his hometown.

"I couldn't (announce my retirement) in Japan because nobody spoke English over there," he added with a laugh.