McGrath on Today's SuperCross

While a group of mechanics and technicians tended to the Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F up on a bike stand before them, seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath sat on the back bumper of a Kawasaki Team Green box van and thought about taking a bite out of a turkey sandwich. The 72-time main event winner who almost single handedly took the sport of supercross up and out of the klieg-lit NFL and Major League Baseball stadiums and into the mainstream, looked on while a group of photographers snapped images of Kawasaki team racers Cameron McAdoo, Garrett Marchbanks, Chase Sexton, and Seth Hammaker. Present at the 2026 Kawasaki Racing team photoshoot at the Kawasaki test track nestled in the hills above Corona, California, McGrath was tuned in, both on and off the motorcycle.  

“2026 Kawasaki photo shoot, right?” asked McGrath, as candid as ever. “It’s always one of those nerve-racking days because I come out once a year for supercross photos like this and I’m riding with all of the kids and it’s like,‘Wow.’ So it’s definitely a little bit scary, but yeah, I enjoy being here. It’s fun. I enjoyed riding my bike, so that was cool, too.

“I think you obviously want to have some fun out here, but also do it with some respect, you know?” McGrath said on participating in the photoshoot. “The bikes these days are so gnarly and so fast, and I do not ride all the time, and then trying to ride supercross out here, it’s a bit of a challenge. I have to argue with myself when I’m out there that I don’t just try and go hard. Like I have to make myself not do the whoops because I really want to do the whoops. And then there are the bigger jumps out there. It’s a constant battle because I want to just go out there and go like I’m 20 years old again. It’s a blast riding my bike. I do ride my motorcycle, but I just never ride supercross. It’s always sketchy when I do.”

Having raced to his very first professional supercross victory on the No. 125 Team Green Kawasaki inside Sam Boyd Stadium on March 17, 1990, McGrath would power on to race throughout the 2002 season. Based outside of San Diego and still heavily involved in the sport, “Showtime” McGrath talked about what he’s been up to as of late.

“I still live in north San Diego,” explained McGrath. “I do a lot of stuff for Kawasaki. I actually drive side-by-sides a lot. We go out to the desert and do all that. We also have a bike company right now. We have an E-bike company called 101 Bikes. It’s me and Scott Spekovic and Eddie Cole and a few guys. So we mess around with that. I still host a show for Kawasaki called, Kawasaki Science of Supercross. 2026 Supercross is coming up, so there are a lot of requests going on for things that I need to be involved with through Kawasaki. I also help my wife with her store. She’s got a store called, TaDah Hone Décor in Solana Beach and I feel blessed that I don’t have to go to work 9-to-5, which is great. I go down there and hang out and do handyman stuff and work on things. It’s cool. It’s like therapy. I also have one daughter, Bergen, still in high school playing lacrosse, so we’re still in sports and stuff like that. My other daughter, Rhowan, is at TCU. She’s been out of the house for a year and a half. But yeah, I’ve just been hanging with Kim and doing family stuff.”

On the outside and looking in as a retired racer, from the back of the Kawasaki box van, McGrath weighed in and provided his take on the vibe he feels the sport reverberates in the modern era.

“It’s pretty cutthroat these days,” pointed out McGrath. “I feel like there is a lot of pressure on these guys. I think it’s a different atmosphere than when I was a kid. It was more of a fun feeling and not so much a corporate feeling. But I mean with more exposure, more money and bigger sponsors, that stuff kind of happens. These kids don’t know any different. It’s just a lot different from when I was a young guy. They don’t know any different because it has been that way since they started.”

How would Jeremy McGrath deal with the sport’s current climate and culture if he were racing in 2026?

“I would just try to make it as relaxed as possible, you know? It’s a pretty tense atmosphere out here. Everyone is fighting for real estate, of course. They’re fighting for their jobs and they’re fighting for the spot on the team and they’re fighting to be the best guy out here. It’s kind of fun to watch. It’s fun to watch these guys ride their bikes. It’s neat for me to see Chase Sexton because I’m a fan still of the races and it is going to be interesting to see him on a Kawasaki. Overall, yeah, I don’t put too much thought into it anymore. I’m still a huge fan of it. I love it.”

And how does McGrath feel hanging out with the current generation of Supercross athletes?

“They are all real respectful,” nodded McGrath. “Yeah, everyone is cool. They’re all really respectful, I think. Everyone is super nice. I think they have a nice vibe around the team. I tell you, it’s flattering, for sure, to get these invites and be involved and have access to race bikes and stuff like that. Sometimes it feels a little bit like I don’t want to be in the way of these guys. They’re the new school guys. I want to be respectful of that, too. But it is neat being able to be invited out here. It’s cool.”

 

With the opening round of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship set for Angel Stadium on January 10, it’s all systems go for racers and race teams the world over. It’s also a very special place for Jeremy McGrath.

“Anaheim is still the Mac Daddy,” declared McGrath, who won eight premier class races (ten if you count his pair of 125SX wins) inside the Major League Baseball stadium. “It is the top of the top. I think when we all get there, we're all hyped. I still get real nervous and have a lot of fun, just like I was racing back in the day. I loved the racing. I was one of the lucky ones to have a lot of race wins. But I don’t think the race wins stand out as much as missing the lights and the fans at night. I think for me that’s a really special moment that you don’t really recognize when you’re doing it. You kind of take it for granted. I loved racing under the lights and hearing the crowd. I loved that. I loved it a lot. Naturally, it’s not going to happen forever, but it's just one of those things you really miss. I also miss the video days of shooting videos with Fox Racing. We were growing up, man, we were just learning how to be men at that time. Those days are missed, for sure. And I had a lot of great races. I mean my first win in Vegas and my first win with PEAK Antifreeze Honda and my first 250 win at 1993 Anaheim. Anaheim was a local race. You never know. You get super powers at your local race. That first win in 1993 was a monumental night for me.”

 Eric Johnson