WASHOUGAL — For Levi Kitchen, the Washougal National could not have come at a better time.
The pro motocross rider, who grew up racing at Washougal Motocross, returns to his home track fresh off his first victory in the Pro Motocross 250 Class.
“Yeah, I definitely feel short of my expectations for some of the rounds (earlier this season),” Kitchen said Friday ahead of Saturday’s Washougal National. “We had a little bit of a stint there where it wasn’t so great. To turn it around last weekend and go 1-and-1 and win, it’s huge. And it gives me a lot of momentum coming into this race.”
Kitchen opened the summer motocross season with a runner-up finish in the 250 Class. But that early start dissolved into a slump, of sorts.
But last weekend, Kitchen ended that slump by winning both motos at the Spring Creek National in Minnesota.
“Really, it was just the bike and stuff,” Kitchen said. “I’ve just been working really hard on getting it better. I got away with the way the bike was set up in the first round because the track was slow. Then round 2, even though I got third, that was where I started noticing that we needed to go a different direction.
“It’s tough during the week. You don’t have much time. You have to recover and everything, so we were pretty much fighting what to do with the bike the last couple of weeks, and we finally got it pretty figured out.”
But that momentum and a home-course advantage doesn’t necessarily guarantee success for Kitchen on Saturday.
The tracks the circuit has been racing on have been slow and muddy given the summer thunderstorms in the East and Midwest.
There hasn’t been a raindrop in sight for weeks at Washougal, where temperatures are forecast to creep into the 90s on Saturday.
“It’s really hard pack, and the dirt’s a lot different than where we’ve been racing,” Kitchen said. “We’ve been on the East Coast for the most part, so coming here definitely throws kind of a loop for everybody. (But) that’s what makes it good. I don’t really want to show some weaknesses out there. Also, if you have good technique in this track, it pays a lot of advantages.”
He also added that his familiarity with Washougal Motocross has its disadvantages, too.
“Just because, I mean, at some point, you have guys that just come out here and hold it wide open and send it, and it’ll pay off,” he said. “So for me, sometimes I can be a little too careful out here. So I need to turn that around this weekend obviously.”
Saturday will be Kitchen’s second appearance as a pro rider at the Washougal National, and he drew the biggest cheers during Friday’s practice laps.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of fans and friends and everything, so that’s awesome,” he said. “I mean this is where it started for me. I would come down here and watch (James) Stewart and (Ricky) Carmichael battle. Now it’s pretty surreal for me to try to be one of those guys, and that’s a lot of motivation.”
Now with his bike just the way he wants it, Kitchen could find himself on the winner’s podium on Saturday.
“Yeah, I mean the goal before I’m done racing is to definitely win this one,” Kitchen said. “Hopefully, I can get it done tomorrow. I’ll definitely keep trying. Last year, it went OK for me. The second moto was better. So I do believe I can win here, and we’ll see.”
