Pro Motocross’ 250 championship takes a decided turn at ‘Mudds’ Creek in favor of Monster Energy’s Davies

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen looked to have the holeshot in the opening 250 class moto at the Yamaha Budds Creek MX National in Mechanicsville, Md., on Saturday. Navigating the heavily saturated and slick conditions to the far inside of the track, Kitchen guided his Kawasaki KX250F out to the race’s early lead – and looked to be in the clear to add to his one point (334-333) lead in the championship chase over fellow Monster Energy racer Cole Davies (Star Racing/Yamaha).

Two things would happen soon thereafter that would, quite possibly, negate Kitchen’s shot at his first ever MX Nationals title. To start, a crash on the lead lap would drop Kitchen back in the pack (17^th). And if that wasn’t enough, AMA officials later said that Kitchen went out of bounds, into the grass on the inside of the start straight, and docked him an additional four race positions. So while Davies would go on to win Moto 1, Kitchen would place 10^th, then get that knocked back to 14^th (based off his AMA penalty).

And though Kitchen would bounce back to place 2^nd in Moto 2, the damage had been done and Davies, who placed 2^nd overall (1-3), would leave Budds with a substantial 14-point (378-364) lead over Kitchen with one round (Ironman MX National) remaining on the AMA Pro Motocross Championship schedule.

“I’ll just go home and try to recover, put it behind me,” said Kitchen. “It’s part of the game and one mistake can cost you pretty big. Just glad I’m somewhat healthy. I’m going to come out swinging at Ironman.”

“Not over ‘til it’s over,” added Davies.

Overshadowed by the 250 class title chase storyline was Monster Energy’s Landen Gordon’s (Star Racing/Yamaha) first career pro motocross podium. The rookie went 3-7 for 3^rd place overall, leading a host of Monster Energy racers in the top ten, including: Kitchen in 5^th, Kayden Minear (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 6^th, Caden Dudney (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 8^th and Drew Adams (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) in 10^th.

On the 450s, Monster Energy’s Haiden Deegan (Star Racing/Yamaha) would score his fifth-straight podium (seventh overall on the season), going 2-4 at Budds for 3^rd place overall – highlighted by a close opening moto battle with overall 450 class points leader Hunter Lawrence (Honda).

Said Deegan” “Body felt good the whole race. Felt strong at the end. Felt strong at the beginning. And that’s what I need. Little achievements like that. I was able to hang (with Hunter Lawrence) in that first moto.”

Rounding out the top ten on the 450s for Monster Energy was Cooper Webb (Star Racing/Yamaha) who placed a solid 6^th – equaling his best finish of the summer thus far (Southwick).

And in WMX racing at Budds Creek, Monster Energy’s Lachlan Turner (Altus Blue Cru/Yamaha) would take the overall with an impressive 1-1 performance over 2^nd place Charli Cannon (Honda), and extended her series point lead ahead of Cannon to 232-211. Monster Energy’s Mikayla Nielsen (SLR/Honda) would make the podium in 3^rd position, going a strong 3-3 on the day.

Overall Standings (10 of 11 rounds)

Notes & Quotes

• “A wild scenario considering the 250 championship was separated by one point.” – NBC announcer Jason Weigandt on the deluge of rain early in the day and the track conditions at Budds Creek.
• “The moment of the race, and kind of Levi’s championship, was right here… and he’d picking up his motorcycle, loses his goggles. Had a rough first moto. And Cole Davies would take full advantage.” – NBC announcer James Stewart on Kitchen’s opening moto crash.
• “It’s cool being there (close to Hunter Lawrence in the opening moto). But again, I’m happy my body felt good and my bike’s going in the right direction. Obviously, you want to go for that win. And we’ve got one more round to do it.” – Deegan
• “Honestly? I treat them like every other weekend.” – Kitchen on his performance at Budds Creek.
• Bit of a debate as to if Kitchen “chose” to go off the track and onto the grass when he pulled the holeshot in the opening moto – or if he was “pushed off” the inbounds section of the track by another rider(s). A bit of a mute-point considering he crashed soon after, but those four positions the AMA docked him for the start infraction could weigh heavy at the last race.
• The No. 1 qualifier in the 450 class at Budds Creek? That’d be Deegan, who clocked a 1:54.734 – the only racer to go sub-1:55. And then the rains hit and Deegan used his second qualifier run to scope out where the soft sections of the track would be.
• As he continues to rehab his torn ACL (Thunder Valley), Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton took some time to head over to Europe to watch fellow Monster Energy racers Tom Vialle and Jeffrey Herlings race in the sand. “Jeffrey makes the track like one big supercross track. It is a rhythm all the way around,” said the highly impressed Sexton.
• This weekend’s it for the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship. Monster Energy storylines are headlined by the 250 class title battle between Davies and Kitchen, Deegan holding off KTM’s Jorge Prado for 3^rd overall on 450s (Deegan leads 376-351) and if Nielsen can make up the three points (161-158) that she trails Kawasaki’s Taylah McCutcheon by for 3^rd place overall in WMX.

Up next: The 11^th and final round of the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship is set for Saturday, August 29, with the running of the U.S. Army Ironman MX National at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Ind.