Kitchen started back in ninth but
chipped away each lap before
finding himself in second place.
"I blew off the track in the
first turn, so I was buried. But
I think by lap two; I saw P2 on
my pit board," said Kitchen. "I
don't think I really picked up the
pace. I think Jordon just settled
in and I think I was fairly con
-
sistent and stuck to everything I
was doing and not do anything
dumb. Well, besides the last
lap, I jumped some things I
hadn't jumped before, but it still
worked out."
At the line, Kitchen knocked
the gap down to less than a sec
-
ond. He crossed in second place
behind Smith but still improved
one position over his round-one
result and sits second in 250SX
West points.
over the 250SX West champion
-
ship points lead.
"It was just survival out there,"
Smith said. "I knew I had a
pretty decent lead. I was trying
to just ride as hard and smart
as I could for as long as I could.
I hit a rut and almost went over
the bars and, after that, backed
it down a little bit. I just tried
to hit the jumps that were safe
enough to hit. I could see Levi
[Kitchen] behind me, but I didn't
know if he was second or a lap
-
per. I heard him coming on the
last lap and knew I better go."
Levi Kitchen notched his
second podium in as many
weeks. The PNW native voiced
his dislike for the mud earlier in
the day, but his result suggested
otherwise as he improved
one position from round one.
it was a tough night in tough
conditions. It was not the result
we were looking for."
250SX WEST
The drama continued in the
250SX West division as condi-
tions were equally as tough, if
not a little worse, for the smaller
engines.
Smith grabbed the ever-im-
portant start and ran away from
the field in the opening laps. At
one point, his lead opened up to
nearly 20 seconds! With such
a big gap, Smith settled into a
comfortable pace while second
place continued to make up
time. At the finish line, Smith
crossed first after leading every
lap, but his lead was cut down to
under one second. A statement
win from Smith sees him take
ROUND 2 / JANUARY 13, 2024
ORACLE PARK / SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P54
The starts are always
important but, in the mud,
it's crucial. Jordon Smith
(31) nabbed the holeshot in
the 250SX West main.
