The last time I saw Jett Reynolds, we were sitting next to each other on an ice chest stationed in the pits of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki race team. It was race day at the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway at Pala. Waiting to watch the first moto of the summer outdoor season, the 18-year-old from Bakersfield, California was showing me the wrist he broke on press day of the 2022 Minneapolis Supercross at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“I knew it was broke right away,” answered Reynolds when I asked about the miscue that costs him his AMA pro racing debut. “Yeah, I felt the disappointment right away.”
Added Reynolds a few seconds later, “You know what’s crazy is that Pala is the first AMA Pro National I’ve ever been to in my life. It’s kind of crazy, you know?
A broken pelvis suffered during the off-season initially put the Californian back on his heels heading into the 2022 racing season and according to both Reynolds and team owner and principal Mitch Payton, put too much of a rush on all things related to Reynolds’ professional debut.
“It’s a bummer because Jett got hurt in the pre-season and so he was off for a while, then he came back and there wasn’t a lot of time to get ready,” reflected Payton of Reynolds’ Minneapolis setback. “We were kind of thinking, ‘Is Jett really ready?’ Second or third lap out at Minneapolis – he wasn’t even going fast, just cruising and maybe that is what bit him.”
A few weeks after the sit-down with Reynolds’ at Fox Raceway in Pala, California, I rang up Jett who was holding station at home up in Bakersfield, California. Taking a break from watching the Thunder Valley National on his computer that Saturday afternoon, Reynolds talked about what he’s been up to and what he hopes to have going on here very shortly…
“I’m not doing too much,” offered Reynolds. “I came back home to Bakersfield for the weekend. My health is definitely good as of now. I’ve just been putting in the work and getting better and better. I’ve had two weeks on the bike now and literally every day is getting better and I’m feeling like myself again. It’s been tough, though. There are times where you really don’t know what to really do after a little while.
“It’s going okay, though, Mitch is definitely looking out for me,” furthered Reynolds. “I believe we’re going in the right direction. We do want to find success and we do want to win races and we do want to win championships and as of right now things have gotten a little bit off track. We’re going to get back on track and we’re going to do all of these things. Mitch has definitely been great. He’s been in my corner and that’s awesome.”
The year 2022 marking the 50th Anniversary of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, it’s a big year for all involved in the sport and a year nine-time AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship winner Reynolds wants to get up and running.
“Honestly, I couldn’t tell you when I’ll be back to racing,” said Reynolds, having a rough go at trying to hide his disappointment and impatience he’s been forced to deal with in getting back up to racing speed. "I do think that we’re going to come in really prepared. I want to come into the first race and ride like I really know how to. I’ve had three and a half months off of the bike, so you definitely lose a little bit of your motor skills a little bit. I’m just going to work on getting back to being healthy and getting on the motorcycle and getting my speed up and getting back out there for those 30-plus-two-lap motos.”
“Man, it has been a tough go, you know?” continued Reynolds. “I’m kind of in this little hole right now and it can’t really get any worse, so we’re climbing our way out. I’m working with Broc Tickle now and he’s really good at finding the positives. You know no one wants to do better and have more success than me, right? Broc’s whole thing is that he just finds the positives in every little thing. I think that’s what keeps me up and not getting so down on things so easily. I have the right people in my corner, and I think they’re behind me 100-percent and I just can’t wait to show off what I have.”
Interestingly, and perhaps a bit unlike the oh so many amateur sensations who came before him, Reynolds has not been shy in the global motocross media in saying things such as: “Hey, I’m nobody. I haven’t made it yet. I have a chance to make it, but I haven’t made it yet.”
“I mean that’s how it is, though," declared Reynolds of turning professional. “I have not proven myself one bit in this sport on the professional level. As of now where I line-up with these guys, I can’t say. All I have are nine Loretta Lynn’s titles and I’m the winningest minibike rider or whatever. I can’t do that because it doesn’t mean anything. The professional and amateur worlds are completely different, and I haven’t really gotten a taste because of it. I haven’t raced yet.
“I think it’s going to be tough. If you’re watching a national on TV it might seem like it would be a long day, but if you’re at the races, it goes by fast. You go out to ride and then you get back to the truck and cool off as soon as you can and get water in you and then you’ve got to get right back up and go back put to the gate. It definitely goes by fast for these guys. It’s like, ‘Holy shit! We’ve got to go back out.’”
“As much as I want to do good, I also have to be realistic. I haven’t had a gate drop in almost a year. You know I’ve had all these injuries and all these months off of the bike. The first couple races I do might be a little bit tough, but I think if we just get through the first couple, I think that by the end I’ll be up there, and I can really be able to see what I have. I definitely have different perspective on things now days after a couple of bad years of some injuries.”
Then there will be all those world class 250cc racers lined-up behind the starting gate with surnames such as Lawrence, Cooper, Shimoda, Mosiman, and Robertson that Reynolds is going to soon be dealing with on any given Saturday afternoon across this nation.
“Those guys are good, and those guys are great. I mean I know what I can do whenever I’m on. I think everyone is super-close. Everyone has raw speed. I feel like I could go out there and throw a hot lap down right with them. For me, I’ve got to get used to the intensity of those motos. I think that will be the toughest thing. Speed won’t be a problem. It’s just going to be hanging on for 30-plus-two motos. The jump from amateur to pro is big. In amateur racing you do, what? Five or six races a year? When you’re a pro these guys are traveling every weekend. The amateur jump to pro is crazy. It seems like a whole different level. You’re always on the go. You hardly get a break. These guys are sending it. They’re not doing this for no reason. They love it. It’s what they love doing.”
So is one Jett Reynolds of Bakersfield, California ready to see all of this pay off when it is time to power into the first turn of his premiere AMA Pro Racing national?
“Yes. Absolutely. I’ve been riding since I’m six years-old and my dad and brother are always right there by my side. I’ve been doing this for 13 years now. It’s time to make that next step and really move forward.”
