Levi Kitchen on Incident with Haiden Deegan: “Love me or hate me I’m racing for myself and myself only”
At Saturday’s second round of the SuperMotocross World Championship SMX Playoffs in St. Louis, Missouri, we were treated to a wild night of racing. After a dominating ride by Haiden Deegan in the first 250SMX moto, the two-time defending 250SMX Champion found himself on the receiving end of a takeout from competitor Levi Kitchen on the opening lap of the race. Kitchen cut across several ruts and executed a block pass that sent both himself and Deegan to the ground, impacting both of their races. Deegan remounted and was forced to race without a front brake lever!
You can watch the takeout below.
Deegan said the following in this morning’s post-race release from Yamaha:
“It was an alright day. I won the first moto and got into a little altercation in the second one. It is what it is. It’s racing. We’ve got one round to go. Let’s see what we can do.”
While Deegan's post-race quote did not provide much insight, Kitchen took to Instagram early this afternoon to explain what was going through his mind in the moment.
“Wild night of racing in St. Louis. Was happy to be healthy after the start crash in practice just pretty sore. As far as the incident in moto 2 there’s a lot of money on the line. Had I stayed up and got on the podium i’d be back in this thing with an opportunity to make great money in Vegas. Love me or hate me I’m racing for myself and myself only. Thanks to the people who support me. See you in Vegas 🎰”
Deegan rode home a 14th in the moto, his 1-14 finishes earning sixth overall as Kitchen finished 5-12 for tenth overall. Deegan sits ten points back of Jo Shimoda, who took 2-2 finishes to earn the overall win Saturday, with only the triple-points finale left. Kitchen sits sixth, 39 points back from Shimoda.
The two were teammates at Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing early in Deegan’s career in 2023 before Kitchen joined the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team ahead of 2024. Last year in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, the two battled for moto and overall wins. Kitchen was banged up at the Daytona Supercross, suffering a broken collarbone and back injury, which resulted in a slower start to Pro Motocross this summer.
