Kitchen eager to get cooking again as Pro Motocross begins

The last time Levi Kitchen rolled his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250F out of a starting gate for an AMA Pro Racing event was on March 1 at Daytona International Speedway. In what was the 55th Daytona Supercross, Kitchen was in third place in the 250 East main event when on lap number four he crashed out in the frontstretch rhythm section. Transported to a local emergency ward it was determined that Kitchen had snapped a collarbone and suffered fractures in his back. 

Two months and 23 days later, Kitchen will return to the starting gate at this Saturday’s curtain-raising round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway in Pala, Calif. Although he was still finishing up training near his home in Florida this week.

“The first three of them, the first three outdoor races, are a bit of a hike and then after that it gets easy," he says. "With High Point and RedBud and those following races, it’s worth staying out here and living out here as opposed to me living in California. I like the East Coast a lot better. The time change can be a little bit much, but that’s why I like to fly a little bit later.

Kitchen pieced together a comprehensive testing and training program with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki organization to get him back to racing in time for the Motocross season. 

“Yeah, I’ve been riding for probably six weeks,” says Kitchen. “However, I’ve been riding more seriously for about a month. I feel really good. I’d say the last three weeks or so have been awesome. Finally there is no soreness or pain or anything like that, so I feel good. I put all of my weight back on. I’ve been healthy as far as sickness and stuff like that goes. Fingers crossed that I don’t catch anything on the damn airplane.”

Last week in a social media post which proclaimed, “The Chef’s still cooking…” the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team announced that Kitchen had signed a two-year contract extension with the outfit. Did Kitchen look at this as a vote of confidence from Mitch Payton and the team? 

“Yeah, for sure,” he says. “We were a little unsure of what we were going to do. We had been talking about what I was going to do in the future, and unfortunately I went down at Daytona and that changed some stuff a little bit. Like I had hopes of maybe going to a 450 in the next couple of years. Now that I honestly sit back and look at it, I’m happy with the way things are going and a couple more years on a 250 is perfectly fine with me. I feel like I’m at the level where I can win in this class, which is good.

"It is a dream of mine to be in the premier class, but it takes a lot of work to get there and I definitely don’t want to go to that class unless I’m going to be pushing for good results. I’m fine with the way it is. I’ve always been kind of a late bloomer in my career. I’m 24 years old now. Even if I have to wait a couple of years to go up to a big bike, then it is what it is and that’s fine. I mean the 250 class is super competitive. It’s fun. I think there is so much variety of the way people ride in the class. You know you’ve got the younger kids that are really good and hungry. I guess I’m getting towards being a veteran of the 250 class now.”

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Kitchen is in a confident frame of mind heading into the Pala opener. Having won three of the last five AMA Pro Motocross Nationals – Millville, Unadilla and Budds Creek – he knows he is in possession of everything needed to make a run at the 2025 250cc title. 

“If I look back, there were a coupe of things that, unfortunately, I didn’t really know coming into 2025," he admits. "I didn’t know what bike setup and things like that were. Obviously, Haiden Deegan rode really good early on in the season and I let a lot of points slip away. The goal for me is to always just do better than the day before. In that case, I just want to do better than I did last year. My goal this year is to get good starts and try my best not to finish off the podium. If I can do that, I feel like I have a good chance at winning a championship. If I get a podium every round and I still lose the championship, well whoever beat me did a damn good job.”

Despite the setback of the Daytona crash, he's pleased with the way his fans have stuck with him, too. 

“Yeah, I do feel like my fan base is growing. I think I have a good and loyal fan base," says Kitchen. "I feel like people are starting to back me and they feel like I can do it. I think I showed that before; unfortunately, I got hurt at Daytona. I feel like when I’m at my best, then I have a good chance at winning. The team has been great, so everybody is kind of behind me and letting me make some decisions on my own. They’ve let me do that bike-wise and living-wise. They’re starting to trust in me and I think that’s huge.”

So how does he feel about his prospects this Saturday? 

“I like Pala,” answers Kitchen, who placed second there in 2024. “I think it can be tough to pass on. My goal is just to execute a couple starts and to get on the box. I mean I did get second there last year going 2-2. It’s hard for me not to want to go in there and win.”