Our good friend, Eric Johnson was kind enough to send us this cool interview with Monster Kawasaki rider, Levi Kitchen. As always, great work from EJ.

The last time Levi Kitchen rolled his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250F behind a starting gate and lined up for an AMA Pro Racing event was on March 1, 2025 at Daytona International Speedway. In what was the 55th Daytona Supercross, Kitchen, straight out of Washougal, Washington, was in third place in the 250 East main event when on lap number four he crashed out in a heap in the frontstretch rhythm section. Transported to a local emergency ward it was determined that Kitchen had suffered a snapped collarbone and fractures in his back.

Two months and 23 says after experiencing the harsh crash at Daytona – that’s precisely 84 days – Levi Kitchen will go to the starting gate at this Saturday’s curtain raising round of the 2025 AMA Pro Motocrss Championship set for Fox Raceway in Pala, California. On Thursday morning, Kitchen was preparing for his flight to Southern California when he spoke with us from his training grounds at the Moto Sandbox in Claremont, Florida.

“I’m just finishing up at Sandbox,” said Kitchen, pondering the travel before him. “It’s the last day of riding and then I’m heading to the gym and then I fly out tomorrow for California. You know, the flights can definitely be a bit much at times, but I don’t know… I’ve gotten used to it. And it’s a big advantage. The first three of them, the first three outdoor races, are a bit of a hike and then after that it gets easy, you know? 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, so it’s okay. The time change can be a little bit much, but that’s why I like to fly a little bit later.”

Kitchen comes straight of a lengthy and comprehensive testing and training program he and the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki organization pieced together to get him back to racing in time for this summer’s AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

“Yeah, I’ve been riding for probably six weeks,” explained 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. I’ve been really good with that. Fingers crossed that I don’t catch anything on the damn airplane. Other than that it has been good.”

Last week and in a social media post which proclaimed, “The Chef’s still cooking…” the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team announced that Levi 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,” answered Kitchen. “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. I mean that’s a good feeling, you know? 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. Yeah, it’s fun.”

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

“Yeah, for sure I want to try and win it,” declared Kitchen. “If I kind of look back, there were a coupe of things that, unfortunately, I didn’t really know coming into 2025. 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. You know my goal this year is just to do my best 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, do you know what I mean? So that’s my goal.”

In recent months, there has been chatter within the U.S. motocross industry, media and fanbase regarding the excellent form and potential Levi Kitchen has displayed in his racing and racecraft.

“Yeah, I feel like that,” he explained. “And I do feel like my fanbase is growing. I think I have a good and loyal fanbase. 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, as long as I can show up and be at my best, then I have a good chance at winning. I just want to battle with the best guys and hope for a good year and I’m definitely going to keep trying to do my best. 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. You know they’re starting to trust in me and I think that’s huge.”

What’s Kitchen’s take on the Fox Raceway at Pala circuit he’ll take on the world’s best motocross pilots at come this Saturday?

“You know I like Pala,” answered Kitchen, who placed runner-up there in 2024. “It’s not bad. I don’t mind it. I think it can be tough to pass on. For me, my goal all-in-all is just to execute a couple starts and to get on the box. That would be a great goal. 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. That’s what I want to do.