SuperMotocross 250 Countdown: No. 3 Levi Kitchen Settles Into His Pace For 2025

Levi Kitchen’s 2024 SuperMotocross season got off to a strong start, and it had been a long season since he looked like he would challenge for the championship. Starting the season in third place at Anaheim 1, he was on the podium in every race but the first seven rounds. That outside was a fifth on a heavy track in San Diego.

The points championship was close most of the year, and without a crash in an East/West Showdown in Nashville, a race that was critical for so many riders in both divisions, the 2024 West title could have been his. Kitchen bounced back and finished second in the penultimate round in Denver.

Despite the disappointment in Nashville, he entered the final in Salt Lake City in control of his destiny, but RJ Hampshire’s second-place finish over Kitchen’s fifth was the difference-maker. Kitchen was second with five points.

SX 2024 Rd 14 Nashville RJ celebrating Hampshire.jpg

RJ Hampshire finished second in the 250 division in 2023 and won in 2024. He has one season to defend his title before moving up to the 450 class.

Kitchen had several solid races in the 2023 Pro Motocross series, scoring three podiums throughout the year. Two of those were second-place finishes at RedBud MX Park in Buchanan, Michigan, and at Unadilla, New York, in New Berlin, so he had reason to continue to feel strong, as he finished on the podium in the first two outdoor races. In 2024 at Fox Raceway in Pala, California and the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California the following week, the field got serious.

The 250 division competes with the entire Motocross series, instead of being split into East and West divisions, and the tension was starting to build. Kitchen finished fifth at Thunder Valley in Round 3 and was ninth at High Point at Mt. in Morris, Pennsylvania, next week. He would not crack the top five again for the next three weeks.

MX 2024 Rd 09 Unadilla Jo Shimoda peace.JPG

In Supercross and Motocross, Jo Shimoda improved in almost every round.

He overtook and won three of the next four races as he found his groove. Unfortunately, his winless streak was at his home track in Washougal, Washington. His main rival, Haiden Deegan, finished sixth in that race as he took the correctors. Keep calm, Deegan reminded him every chance he had, and when Kitchen suffered a season-ending crash at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Deegan had the Motocross championship locked up for good.

With points reset for the SuperMotocross World Championship, Kitchen had another shot at the title. He topped the podium at Concord, North Carolina with a third-place finish and narrowly missed the mark at Texas Motor Speedway in Round 2, but was unable to sustain his momentum and finished a distant eighth at Las at the Strip. Vegas Motor Speedway.

SX 2024 Rd 02 San Francisco Jordon Smith wins 250 West.JPG

For most of his career Jordon Smith has been the best in Supercross and he needs to repeat that success in 2025.

It should be noted that Kitchen is in his third full season. He didn’t crack the top 10 points in the first two years, but since then he’s been in the top five in every tournament except the 2024 SMX League, where he finished sixth. At the 2025 Media Session at Angel Stadium in December, Kitchen told the crowd that he is now more comfortable on the bike and believes that will make a big difference this year.

That’s certainly true, but Kitchen Pro Circuit has also moved up the ranks of the Kawasaki team, with two of their top riders moving on to other teams. Kitchen will find added speed as a veteran on his team.

2024 Statistics
Feature start: 24
Average feature finish: 4.29
Wins: 6
Podiums: 13
The first five:17
Top-10s: 22
Best Finish: Win (Anaheim 2, Seattle, St. Louis SX, Spring Creek, Unadilla, Budds Creek MX)
SMX ranking/payout: sixth/$25,000

2024 news
Levi Kitchen scores his second win in a row at Budds Creek
Kitchen is the third winner of 2024 at Spring Creek
A more confident cook: The kitchen finds the recipe for success
Kitchen claims the 250 win in Seattle
Cooper Webb and Kitchen keep their streak of outstanding SX wins alive at the Anaheim TC

450 countdown
3. Cooper Webb
4. Eli Tomac
5. Aaron Plessinger
6. Lawrence the Hunter
7. Jason Anderson
8. Ken Roczen
9. Justin Cooper
10. Justin Barcia
11. Malcolm Stewart
12. Dylan Ferrandis
13. Christian Craig
14. Shane McElrath
15. Dean Wilson