Interstate 15 twists through Southern California and rolls through the town of Corona, home of the Kawasaki K1 Test Track, and the place where the Monster Energy Kawasaki and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race teams sort out their equipment.

It’s here that we found Jason Anderson on New Year’s Eve, dialing in his bike for the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship season-opener at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium on January 11.

“I’ve been riding and racing dirt bikes since I was six years old, so being able to still do it at age 32 is incredible,” said Anderson, a 14-time 450cc main event winner during his Supercross career. “I’m not really a guy that thrives on stuff that other guys thrive on. Guys can thrive on winning and other stuff. I feel like I’m more of a guy that just loves what I do, and I just want to keep the dream alive more so than anything.. Luckily, I’m pretty capable of doing well.

“I’m going into this Anaheim in 2025 and I’m excited still. It’s crazy because I still feel like that little kid walking in to do the press conference. It’s crazy when I’m up there. Sometimes I don’t even understand how big of a deal it is. From being where I was when I was little and watching those guys, and then being up there and being a part of the press conference for so many years now is really cool. And the atmosphere at Anaheim in general is amazing. I feel like the closer you get towards the end of your career, the more you want to take full advantage of it. It all goes by in the blink of an eye, but I don’t want it to end.”

One of Anderson’s fiercest rivals in the sport, both then and now, is Eli Tomac. With Anderson now at 31 years of age and Tomac at age 32, do the two veteran racers ever communicate with one another?

“Not much,” answered Anderson. “We don’t really talk much. Most of the time we would probably see each other is at the races. Obviously, we grew up two hours from each other so we’ve been racing around each other since we were on 60s. For him, He’s always kind of kept doing his own deal in Colorado and I’ve always been in California. I kind of migrated here from New Mexico. We kind of have two totally different programs, but at the same time, I feel it is has been pretty cool to go through everything we’ve gone through and all of us are still racing each other some 25 years later.”

Fifth place overall in the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship with an average finishing position of 5.76, Anderson also raced to four podium scores along the way.

“I was lucky I got four podium finishes in the year,” he said. “I also closed the season strong with five straight top five finishes. Being able to have a strong end to the year and stuff like that was good, but I think there was a little bit we missed on our motorcycle just because we were in the first year of the motorcycle. I think there are things that we have right now that can maybe improve on that.

“I would really love to win in my 30s. I haven’t been able to get a win in my 30s yet. So that would be a cool thing if I can accomplish it. That would be a huge thing for me.

“It’s a fierce sport and it is not easy to win. Not at all. I think it’s tough to be a winner. It’s tough to win for a long time. There are so many aspects of it to where you have to lock in, but then you also have your life on the other side of it that you also have to keep maintaining. You cant be always fully locked in. It’s just hard on us and to maintain a career going long, you have to have that balance, but it is so hard. Especially like right now. We’re getting ready for Anaheim 1, and you have Christmas and New Year’s Day and here we are spending New Year’s Eve at the track. It’s no joke. However, I’m lucky and I really do love what I do, so I have to figure out how to make that happen.”

While out at the K1 Test Track, Anderson ran alongside new Kawasaki teammate Jorge Prado.

“To be honest, it has been really, really refreshing with Jorge here,” he said. “Obviously, he’s new to all of this, so it’s nice to have that enthusiasm in a teammate. As a 450 guy, every teammate that I’ve ever had has been kind of aged, as in being on the circuit for a while and everything like that. Jorg, coming from Europe, he still sees the shine on all of this stuff. It is sparkling and new to him and it’s refreshing and I think it helps the energy across the whole board.”

A rider who has always enjoyed and maintained a lower profile than many others during his journey through the sport, Anderson has always been known to have his own way of doing and seeing things.

“I’m just more low-key,” he said. “I like to go home and do my work and just hang out and enjoy what I do. That’s just how I am. I’m not really a big guy on getting a lot of attention, so I just kind of keep to myself, for the most part. I mean there is a lot of stuff I like to do outside of the sport, but it’s hard to do just because my time is taken. You get to the point to where you’ve got to figure out who you are besides racing, you know? Obviously now I feel like I’m on the closer side to the end and I want to figure out who I am.

“Honestly, it’s tough because you start racing at six years old and then you’ve got to figure out who you are as soon as you retire. It’s a hard thing to do. As you get older, too, you have to understand the bad nights. You have to leave it there. I still have got to be present with what I do after and not have any negative on my energy whenever I’m away from the track because it is hard on you. But yeah, I definitely feel I can do it, and we’ll see where we stack up when we show up to Anaheim 1. I’m looking forward to it and I just want to keep enjoying myself. That’s my biggest thing.”

How will he approach competitors as Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac come the clank of the starting gate into Angel Stadium dirt?

“To be honest, I feel like the only approach you can have is to just get the best start you can and create the best result from whatever start that you get,” he said.

“I feel like the days of you being so fast to where you can just run through the pack are gone. Right now the class is really, really, really stacked. There are the title guys and I would obviously like to put my name in there, but then you also have the guys behind them. You have Malcolm Stewart, Justin Barcia, Kenny Roczen and there are a ton of guys that are still just so insanely good and they definitely get overlooked for how talented they are. All of those guys that I just said, you wouldn’t be surprised to see them p1 in practice. The amount of guys is just insane. The level our sport is going to is amazing.”

And can the young and accomplished Jett Lawrence be defeated in 2025?

“I think right now is the time is where if he is going to get beat, he needs to get beat right now,” he said. “If you keep letting him go with his confidence, he can possibly win out until he’s tired of winning. I think right now is a big moment for people to try and stop it. I feel like if it doesn’t happen now, he’s going to be a tough train to slow down.”

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