After coming close on multiple occasions, Levi Kitchen finally broke through for his first professional title in Ridgedale, clinching the 2026 250SMX World Championship crown in a high-pressure decider. In this Debrief feature, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider reflects on executing when it mattered most and the significance of finally adding a number-one plate to his resume.

Image: Octopi Media.

Clinching the title

Yeah, it was pretty unreal. With the rain coming down, things got a little bit dicey, but I put myself in a good position and it was pretty mellow from there. Nothing really hit me until right before the finish line. I actually saw my teammate, he was screaming for me, and it kind of hit me then. I was like, ‘Man, finally.’ So, what a feeling.

Consistent starts

I’ve been practising a lot and I knew that they were getting better, but I think tonight was 90 percent mental. That second moto, all my main competitors lined up next to me and I was just like, ‘You boys ain’t getting me this time. It ain’t going to happen.’ Because I knew I had to do it. So, yeah, I ripped it.

Points awareness

I was out there for that paycheck. To be honest, all day I kind of knew where we were with everything, and I knew Cole was going to be fast, but I knew I could use him as a pick all night, honestly. Moto one, I was able to get out front and then he got me, but we were able to at least pull away, so I was comfortable. Then moto two, I just tried to hang with him. It was, ‘All right, if I can just keep this pace up…’ I knew the guys behind me, I saw Nate [Thrasher] back there, and honestly, I seem to get along, for the most part, with a lot of the people. I guess I’ve made a lot of friends along the way, so I just knew I was in a good spot. I wasn’t nervous about anything stupid happening. So, yeah, it was pretty mellow from there.

Image: Octopi Media.

Learning for 2027

I think the biggest thing is just truly blocking out everything around you, and the thing for me tonight was just being present. Don’t even think about this thing. Don’t think about winning. It’s hard to do, obviously, but it’s just another race. I actually feel like I did a good job of that. I didn’t do anything special tonight and I didn’t do anything stupid. I didn’t override, and the whole day was just perfect. I didn’t take any massive risks, and I just knew that the first 100 feet or whatever was basically make or break. So, I executed that and from there it was pretty easy.

Mental challenges

Obviously, with how long the other series are, during outdoors this year it was a little bit stressful just because you’ve got so many people on the line and so much can go wrong, as we’ve seen happen most of the time. But these ones, I would say this one’s almost a little bit easier because you know you’ve got to stay consistent for three rounds. If you blow it at one of them, you’re kind of screwed. So, yeah, I knew that. The way it all shook down, Cole [Davies] had a couple of mishaps and I think I ended up going 1-3-2 or whatever overall on the weekends. It taught me a lot, though. That’s what it’s going to take going into Supercross – just stay on that podium. I think that’s how you win a championship.

Image: Octopi Media.

Prize money on offer

Yeah, I think this whole thing, the money is obviously awesome, but I’m going to invest my money. I’m going to try not to buy anything stupid. The big thing is just the feeling. It’s the pride. The trophy, any of that stuff, it’s not really that. It’s just knowing deep down I got it done, and this is going to really help me, I think, in my future. I’ve always wanted to win bad, and it’s just great carrying this momentum, not only over to represent the USA – I’m excited to go send it over there – but mainly for the series coming up in January. I just think it’s going to help me and hopefully it shows some people that I can get it done in a situation like this with that much pressure. It was hard, but we were able to do it.

Finally getting it done

I’m just feeling good. I’m just happy. Life’s good, man. It’s nice to win and it just takes a good chunk of weight off my shoulders. It’s hard coming up short and you get known as, you know, I haven’t been able to win. So, just to be able to put it together in a situation like this, it was nice. I just know for future races and championships, this is going to pay off. I know that for sure. On the other side, though, it’s just motivated me. Now I’m already excited and it’s given me a lot of confidence to try to go get more of these things.

Impact of SMX

It’s huge. Thank you to SMX and everybody who does it. I also want to give a shout-out to them for this last race, this venue – everything was amazing. It was a true hybrid. It was a true SuperMotocross. So, it was a lot of fun, and with that extra money in my pocket, it definitely helps because at a 250 level, you’re right. You’ve got to win races and championships to really, in today’s world, kind of get ahead, I feel like. So, it’s huge, and even second, third, all of it, it’s really nice of everybody. It’s good to see them come together and be able to motivate us for that. It’s not all about that. Obviously, it’s about the pride in yourself and winning, but you’ve got to make money these days.