We did not see Levi Kitchen during any of the Friday media day activities ahead of today’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross season opener. According to Kawasaki, he had an illness, so we did not see him at all on Friday.
This morning, our own Jason Weigandt learned Kitchen was on site early this morning but was pitted separate from the team. Weigandt put the following on X (formerly "Twitter").
Levi Kitchen missed press day because he was sick, he’s riding today but looks like he’s pitting out of a sprinter van instead of team semi. I assume to keep him separate from most of the team?
— Jason Weigandt (@JasonWeigandt) January 11, 2025
Kitchen did go out for the 250SX Group A free practice session to start the morning, but he did not start the first actual qualifying session. After riding free practice, he wasn't up for it, so the team has sent him home. Because he only rode free practice and did not actually qualify for Anaheim 1, Kitchen is eligible to race the 250SX East Region (which starts February 8 in Florida).
Note that this happened a few years ago when Enzo Lopes got hurt at the 2021 Houston 1 SX opener, but since he did not start the night show, his eligibility on the other coast remained.
But this is huge for Mitch Payton’s team, who will now only have Garrett Marchbanks in the 250SX West Region. The team had announced on January 7 that Marchbanks and Kitchen would be racing the SX opener, meanwhile Ty Masterpool, Cameron McAdoo, and Seth Hammaker are all set for the 250SX East Region. Up-and-coming star Drew Adams, the sixth official member of the team, is set to race the Supercross Futures amateur program in 2025 but has the potential to be a fill-in as a pro if needed. So, could we see Adams now with Kitchen forced to be the fourth rider in the 250SX East Region and Marchbanks running solo on the West Coast?
