NATE THRASHER: “CHAMPIONSHIP OR BUST!”

Yamaha’s Nate Thrasher has proved he can win Main events. But can he win consistently enough to earn a No.1 plate? Transmoto’s Eric Johnson speaks with the 23-year-old title hopeful in the lead-up to the 2026 AMA Supercross season.

After all was said and done this year, 2025 250SX East Region Championship standout, Nate Thrasher of the Monster Energy Star Racing organisation, was able to string together a strong and consistent 2025 AMA Pro Racing season. Fourth overall in the 2025 250SX East, the 23-year-old charger out of Livingston, Tennessee, shone at times along the way; a major highlight coming on Saturday, March 25, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, where Thrasher earned the Overall victory and top step of the podium through rock steady 3-2-2 race finishes. A year of “building, building and building” [Thrasher’s words], the Yamaha YZ250F pilot was methodical and steady in 2025, and will now look forward to rapidly approaching 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship to reach for an even higher gear.

Back in Tennessee to run out the duration of the 2025 and 2026 holiday season before hooking back up with the Monster Energy Star Racing outfit to put the finishing touches on 2026 pre-season preparation, Thrasher took a break from his training regimen to let us into his racing world and just what is going on within it. He’s quietly confident and keen to have the football and baseball stadiums of this nation to flick the klieg lights on and kick-off the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

“I feel like I’ riding better than I have in a while this off-season. I’m just excited to get going and see where we stack up, but I feel like we are in a good spot.”

“Yes, I have been building. I’m in Tennessee right now and just spending this time with family over Christmas and the holidays,” explained Thrasher, a top-10 rider in all three 2025 SMX rounds along the way. “I’m heading back out tomorrow to get back to training. It’s been good here in Tennessee. I just came out for the holiday. I’ve just been riding and riding and getting ready for the season. It’s pretty much the same thing as every other year, just putting the laps in and trying to get the bike where it needs to be. Yeah, just doing the work. Putting it in right now and ready to go see what we’ve got for the first round. I feel good. Yeah, I’m ready. I think we have the bike in a good spot. It’s hard to say until you get to the first race, but then we’ll figure it out.”

A member of the prolific Monster Energy Star Racing outfit, Thrasher is quite aware that it’s a significant effort and one that requires some give and take along the way.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s really good,” said Thrasher. “They do a good job with everything. Yeah, I’ve been with them for a while now and everything is real good. And I feel like we are getting better each year. We all get along well. Yeah, it’s good. I mean, I feel like every team is kind of similar to ours. This is not a team sport, so you’re pretty much by yourself and trying to do your laps. It’s not like a football team, right? A team where comradery between every guy needs to be perfect. You’re kind of worried about yourself more.

“Mentally, it’s good to know you can win. I just need to do it more often. And we’ve just been trying to get the bike in a little bit more comfortable spot for every type of condition.”

“I feel good, you know? I feel like I’ riding better than I have in a while this off-season. Like I said, I’m just excited to get going and see where we stack up, but I feel like we are in a good spot.”

Victorious at Birmingham, and a perennial threat for a podium step all throughout the 2025 racing campaign, Thrasher absolutely knows he can win, and he sure as hell wants to do more of it, come the clank of the starting gate for the 2026 racing season.

“With every year that goes by, I know a little bit more about myself and what I need to go out there and compete and win races. I’ve just been trying to hone everything technique-wise.”

“I mean, yeah, for sure,” nodded Thrasher. “Mentally, it’s good to know you can win. I just need to do it more often. And we’ve just been trying to get the bike in a little bit more comfortable spot for every type of condition. Working on starts is always important. I think they are for everyone. I’m trying to hone those; I’m just working on little things. Some weaknesses pop out, so we’ll try to fix those as quick as we can. I’m trying to get a little bit better in the whoops, and hopefully that will transfer to winning more races. I think just doing this stuff for a longer time now, you kind of know what you need, and you know what you’re looking for. So, I think with every year that goes by, I know a little bit more about myself and what I need to go out there and compete and win races. I’ve just been trying to hone everything technique-wise. I’m trying to hone all that.”

Contesting an otherworldly tough and physical sport that requires perhaps the ultimate synergy between man and machine, Thrasher fully realises SuperMotocross is its own sport that takes an extraordinary commitment from its athletes.

“I want to win two or three races. And I want to be consistent in every other race and try to be on the podium. It’s pretty much championship or bust for me. That’s my mentality going into it.”

“Yeah, no doubt. It’s its own sport, for sure. That’s why we do it, and I think everybody loves it on the gate. You’ve got to keep it fun, too. That’s when you ride your best. I’m trying to stack days and be productive. I think we’ll get the season going and start out strong and we’ll go from there. We’re just ready to get the season going.”

And does Thrasher know if he’ll be lining up on the East or West starting gate, come the launch of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship?

“I’m pretty sure I’m going East,” answered Thrasher. “That’s the word I’ve got so far. It’s depending on whether somebody gets hurt or something like that, it can change. I feel like this is the best and healthiest I’ve come into a season in a long time. It is also the fastest I’ve ever been going in the off-season. I think this championship, for me, that’s my goal. I want to win two or three races. That would be another goal. And I just want to be consistent in every other race and try to be on the podium. Yeah, it’s pretty much championship or bust for me. That’s my mentality going into it.”