250 Words: West Title Contenders

“I mean, it feels really good to be in this position,” Kitchen said on having the points lead. “I dreamed of it for a long time. So, I don't know. It's cool for sure. But, there's a lot of racing and the job’s really not done until you win the championship. So, it's cool but pressure comes with it. And, yeah, I mean, sometimes I do like pressure though, right.”

Hampshire’s second win has him a steady third place in the championship.

“I got smoked in the heat race,” Hampshire said in the post-race press conference. “Like, dude, I was struggling pretty bad. So, I was like, ‘Okay, let's see the changes that we made.’ I could trust my bike, and once I figured that out, okay, I can match their speed. Just hang right in there and hopefully, you know, it kind of gets given to me, and that's really what happened. They made some mistakes and then, yeah, I found myself out in the lead pretty quick.”

Read: RJ Hampshire on Getting His Second Win of 2024 Season in Glendale

Smith had a few mistakes in the main event in Arizona, but luckily escaped with a fourth-place finish. Clipping a Tuff Block when landing a triple was not too bad, nor was the slide out he had, although the latter cost him the lead. Smith's big one came when Kitchen tripled in then rolled the tabletop in the section after the finish line when red cross flags were waving for a downed Ryder DiFrancesco. Closing on his competitor, Smith accidently jumped onto the tabletop Kitchen rolled, clipped his opponent, and crashed into the opposite facing whoops section. Luckily, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider was able to regroup and bring home fourth. He now sits only four points behind Kitchen.

“It was a great start to the day,” Smith said in a Yamaha release. “I qualified first and won my heat race. I got a good start in the main, made the pass on Levi (Kitchen), and then made a mistake and went off track. He got me back, and I passed him back again. Then I tucked the front in the sweeper after the sand; it was super hard-packed and slick. I got back up and was coming behind Levi after that triple.”

“There was a rider down in the rhythm section, and the yellow lights were flashing, but there was nothing red - no red lights, no red flag, no red cross,” he continued. “It looked like he was committed to jumping it, and at the last second, he backed off and then he also rolled the tabletop. I was already committed to three-on, and there was really nothing that I could do. It was just a bummer deal. I felt like I had that race won. I felt like I was the fastest guy on track tonight, but I’ve got to clean up my mistakes. We’ve got a lot of time now to get ready.”

The former Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates get along well and there appears to be no bad blood over the incident. On Smith’s post-race Instagram post, Kitchen took blame for the get-together, commenting: “Glad you’re okay buddy. That is completely my mistake.”

The trio has swapped positions and battled one another closely, but the racing has been respectful through and through. Kitchen is still early in his 250SX career compared to the two veterans of the sport, but all three have shown mutual respect for their competitors. This is the kind of title fight that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Who will make the first big mistake? Who will rise above the others?

Despite being in the points lead, Kitchen knows there is still room for improvement.

“I just learned that my early speed…obviously, my start's have been great,” Kitchen said. “That's been good. But early on those guys, they had better pace than me for sure. And I just need to have better intensity at the beginning. After halfway, I'm always pretty good, but also just getting used to being out front. I almost…I'm not super comfortable out front with people super close behind me. So, yeah, I just need to work on getting the starts like that, but then being able to get away a little bit. So, that's probably what I'll focus on on the break.”

Hampshire is aiming to get some training in on a 450 to start sharp, as he and Smith look to put up a fight with Kitchen when the championship resumes later next month in Seattle on March 23. Hopefully all three riders remain healthy so we can see them continue to battle through the final checkered flag of this season. Jo Shimoda, Nate Thrasher, Garrett Marchbanks, and more might serve as wild cards in what is already a fun championship.