Embodying the spirit of the Fourth of July weekend with red, white, and blue in his hair, Yamaha’s Levi Kitchen embraced every aspect of the Red Bud National as he made his way onto the racetrack for practice. Kitchen had proven that he was a contender for victory in race’s past, and aspired to do much the same for practice in Michigan. After accruing a final standing of twelfth for qualification, Kitchen then did his best to navigate through the chaotic first lap of moto number-one with precise vision. However, residing in seventeenth at the end of lap-one would be less than desired — which forced Levi to take unorthodox lines in order to weave through the field. Kitchen refused to settle while passing multiple riders at a time, keeping his front-end light amongst the deepest portions of the racetrack while seeking smooth pathways. He had made his way into the top-ten on lap five after passing Jett Reynolds, with his sights now set on accruing a single-digit placement. And with perseverance, the Washington native would fly over the LaRocco’s Leap jump with determination, time and time again while tracking-down riders like Jo Shimoda and Tom Vialle. He was relentless with his charge, which eventually allowed him to accrue a magnificent seventh-place score. But he was hopeful that with a better starting sequence (to moto two) that he could move forward in the running order...and that’s exactly what occurred on behalf of the Washougal resident, where his jump from the starting grate was top-tier; and he avoided the crash that took-down Honda’s Hunter Lawrence in the first turn! This would allow him to edge forward, just in front of his teammate Haiden Deegan as they stormed their way to the green flag. Kitchen eventually made his way into first, where he steadily built a lead that seemed to marginally amplify over the course of the next few laps. He was free-flowing from various outside berms where the blades of bull dozer’s had smoothened the racetrack, relentlessly twisting the throttle while steadying the bike at a forty-five degree angle! He would have the front-wheel hovering above the racing surface for what seemed like the entire track, distancing himself over his teammate (Deegan) as they sprinted through the sixteen-lap process. And as he eventually conquered every circuit in the number-one position, it would be Kitchen who crossed the line with an ecstatic feeling of accomplishment; and rightfully so, as the second-moto win would boost him to a runner-up overall in the standings!