Levi Kitchen: “I worked my way up near the top 10 before my chain came off and went into the engine cases”
Even after coming off his injuries at the Daytona Supercross—which ended his 250SX East title fight just three rounds in—Levi Kitchen was expecting to be a title favorite this summer. Kitchen won three of the final five 250 rounds of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship and said he was ready to battle for the title in his second season on his #47 Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250.
Kitchen had high expectations for himself but had a tough result at the season opener. He was outside the top ten in most of the first moto but landed tenth in what was a rare sixth-through-tenth for the entire Pro Circuit squad. Garrett Marchbanks led the team in sixth, followed by Ty Masterpool, Seth Hammaker, Drew Adams, then Kitchen, respectively. Odd how that worked out!
| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Haiden Deegan | 2:20.087 | Temecula, CA  | Yamaha YZ250F | ||
| 2 |  Jo Shimoda | 2:21.229 | Suzuka, Japan  | Honda CRF250R Works Edition | ||
| 3 |  Chance Hymas | 2:19.483 | Pocatello, ID | Honda CRF250R Works Edition | ||
| 4 |  Tom Vialle | 2:21.054 | Avignon, France  | KTM 250 SX-F | ||
| 5 |  Julien Beaumer | 2:18.740 | Lake Havasu City, AZ | KTM 250 SX-F | ||
| 6 |  Garrett Marchbanks | 2:19.808 | Coalville, UT | Kawasaki KX250 | ||
| 7 |  Ty Masterpool | 2:20.751 | Paradise, TX | Kawasaki KX250 | ||
| 8 |  Seth Hammaker | 2:20.408 | Bainbridge, PA | Kawasaki KX250 | ||
| 9 |  Drew Adams | 2:22.653 | Chattanooga, TN | Kawasaki KX250 | ||
| 10 |  Levi Kitchen | 2:23.384 | Washougal, WA | Kawasaki KX250 |
In moto two, Kitchen was running tenth in the second moto when he was suddenly seen sitting still right on the edge of the track while on his bike. He then began pushing his bike off the track and the broadcast picked up a shot that saw Kitchen’s chain had derailed, which ended his moto. Kitchen’s DNF came on the 12th lap of the 15-lap race, but he officially scored 38th in the moto.
Kitchen scored 10-38 for 16th overall, giving him on his 12 points from the first moto to show as Haiden Deegan scored a 1-1 day with 50 points. Will the Washington native be able to climb out of this hole and fight for the championship late into the season?
He said the following in a post-race Kawasaki release:
“It was a tough day for me. Qualifying went pretty well, but in Moto 1 I got buried off the start and finished 10th. In Moto 2, I didn’t get a great start again, but I worked my way up near the Top 10 before my chain came off and went into the engine cases, which ended my race early. Unfortunately, it was a DNF, but we’ll regroup and give it our best next weekend.”
Then, he posted a photo of him golfing on Instagram on Sunday, noting his tough race weekend, stating: "Got cooked yesterday." Note: the golf event was a Road 2 Recovery fundraiser for Jerry Robin.
