Levi Kitchen's 2026 Supercross Season Hits a Major Snag in Anaheim 2! It seems the start of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season has been anything but smooth sailing for Levi Kitchen. Despite being a pre-season favorite for the title, his races have been marred by unfortunate incidents. In fact, he's experienced three first-turn crashes in the opening three main events! While he impressively fought back from last to sixth at Anaheim 1 and from second-to-last to fourth in San Diego, his Anaheim 2 main event came to a premature end.
But here's where it gets particularly tough: during the Anaheim 2 main event, Kitchen's race was cut short after less than half a lap. This wasn't his first incident of the night; he'd already had a significant crash in his heat race when he came up short on a triple jump. Following the main event crash, he was seen attempting to get back on his bike. However, NBC announcer Jason Weigandt noted that both Kitchen and Chance Hymas (who was involved in a separate first-turn pile-up) were seen riding off the track towards the tunnel, both with their left arms off the handlebars.
And this is the part most people miss: the official post-race release from Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki shed some light on the situation. They stated that Kitchen sustained a "minor arm injury" when his left arm was struck early in the main event. It appears that Justin Rodbell accidentally made contact with Kitchen's left arm. At the time of the collision, Kitchen's start device was still engaged, which contributed to him going down. This impact led to Kitchen's decision to pull off the track.
The team's statement included Kitchen's own words: "It was a little bit of a frustrating day. The speed is there, and I feel good on the bike, but a few small things kept setting me back. The crash in the heat race was unfortunate, and then in the main I slid out and my arm got hit in the mix. It didn’t feel great after that, so I pulled off, which was a bummer. The main thing is staying healthy so I can come back and fight in Houston."
Despite these setbacks, Kitchen's speed in qualifying and practice sessions has been evident. However, with finishes of 6-4-21, he currently sits in ninth place in the 250SX West Division standings. His teammate, Cameron McAdoo, secured fourth place in the Anaheim 2 main and holds sixth place in the standings with finishes of 22-2-4.
Current 250SX West Division Standings:
- Haiden Deegan - 68 points
- Michael Mosiman - 59 points
- Max Anstie - 58 points
- Ryder DiFrancesco - 55 points
- Max Vohland - 46 points
- Cameron McAdoo - 40 points
- Chance Hymas - 38 points
- Dilan Schwartz - 36 points
- Levi Kitchen - 34 points
- Carson Mumford - 33 points
Given these early season challenges, is it possible for Levi Kitchen to still contend for the championship, or have these early-race incidents put him too far behind? What do you think about the role of luck versus skill in Supercross?
