AllRacing

Thrasher eager to stamp his name on the new season of Supercross

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250SX East Division championship standout Nate Thrasher of the Monster Energy Star Racing organization was able to string together a strong and consistent 2025 AMA Pro Racing season. Fourth overall, the 23-year-old charger out of Livingston, Tennessee shined at times along the way, a major highlight coming in March at Birmingham, where Thrasher earned the overall victory and top step of the podium through rock steady 3-2-2 race finishes. In a year of “building, building and building” the Yamaha YZ250F pilot was methodical and steady, and is eager to take another gear in the upcoming 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship to reach for an even higher gear.

“Yeah, just doing the work and ready to go see what we’ve got for the first round,” says 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. I feel good.”

Being a member of the prolific Monster Energy Star Racing outfit requires some give and take along the way.

“I’ve been with them for a while now and everything is real good and I feel like we are getting better each year,” he says. “We all get along well. I mean, 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 cameraderie between every guy needs to be perfect. You’re kind of worried about yourself more.

“I feel like I’m 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 campaign, Thrasher is determined to deliver even more in ’26.

“Yeah, mentally it’s good to know you can win. I just need to do it more often,” he says. “We’ve just been trying to get the bike in a little bit more comfortable spot on every type of condition. Working on starts is always important. I think they are for everyone. I’m trying to hone those in and 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.”

A tough and physical sport requiring perhaps the ultimate synergy between man and machine, Thrasher fully realizes SuperMotocross is its own sport that takes an extraordinary commitment from its athletes.

“Yeah, no do 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.”

In terms of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, though, he isn’t quite sure just yet which way he’ll go.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going East,” answered Thrasher. “That’s the word I’ve got so far. It’s depending on if 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 offseason.

“I think this championship, for me, that’s my goal. I want to win two or three races 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.”