Levi Kitchen on Tough Day at Ironman National Pro Motocross Finale: "I gave my all and did the best I could"
Tough day at the AMA Pro Motocross Championship finale for Levi Kitchen.
Kitchen came into the season finale down 14 points to Monster Energy Yamaha's Cole Davies. Kitchen would need things to go his way AND need things to go against Davies if he were to win the title, and unfortunately, things did not go the way of the #47. Kitchen was buried off the start and had a crash down the big Godzilla hill. He only completed a handful of laps before pulling off. He did not start the second moto, officially scoring 40-41 for 41st overall. He actually dropped to third in the standings behind champion Davies and Ironman National over winner Julien Beaumer.
Kitchen said the following in the team's recap after the race:
“I’m bummed with how I ended the season at Ironman,” said Kitchen. “I felt pretty good on the bike throughout qualifying and was hoping to put together a strong final round, but unfortunately the first moto didn’t go our way. It’s disappointing to end the season like this, but now the focus is on recovering and doing everything I can to be ready for SMX.”
Kitchen posted on his Instagram this afternoon:
"A season of ups and downs but overall I’m ok with the outcome. I gave my all and did the best I could. Made a ton of progress all around this year which I’m really happy about but there’s always more to work on. I can’t thank everyone who supports me enough 🫶"
Unfortunately, this is not the first time Kitchen has had the points lead in a championship but has not won the title. And this is the second time in Kitchen's stint with Kawasaki that two different riders have had the points lead at one point in the season (High Point National when both Kitchen and Seth Hammaker shared the points lead) but neither won a title. Back in 2024, Kawasaki teammates Kitchen (West) and Cameron McAdoo (East) had the points lead in their respective championships at the Nashville SX but crashed into each other and neither won the title that year.
One last thing to note about Kitchen's day at the finale: Entering the weekend, Kitchen's average overall finish in his first five starts at Ironman Raceway was 12.4. Now, after this weekend's 40-41 officially, his average there is 17.2. In his 12 total motos raced there, Kitchen has six motos with DNFs and only two inside the top five, with an average moto finish of 22.7.
Levi Kitchen's Results at Ironman National
| Year | Overall Finish | Moto 1 Finish | Moto 2 Finish | Moto Average |
| 2026 | 41 | 40 | 41 | 40.5 |
| 2025 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 9 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | 35 | 18.5 |
| 2023 | 15 | 7 | 37 | 22 |
| 2022 | 12 | 8 | 38 | 23 |
| 2021 | 16 | 11 | 35 | 23 |
| Average | Overall Finish Average: 17.16666667 | First Moto Average: 13.66666667 | Second Moto Average: 31.66666667 | Both Moto Average: 22.66667 |
Luckily, Kitchen still has a shot at the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship in the upcoming playoffs as he sits second to Davies in combined 250SMX standings. Plus, the Washington native is set to race with Cooper Webb and Chance Hymas as a part of Team USA at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in October.
