The Southwick national was not only the halfway point of the Pro Motocross Championship, but it also shook things up as far as points are concerned. The red plate in both classes swapped hands by the end of the day. Unfortunately, in the 250 class, Jo Shimoda crashed a broke his collarbone in qualifying and never even got to line up for the first moto. So, while Cole Davies left with the points lead, Levi Kitchen had a much better day and was able to pull to within two points of Davies.

Cole Davies pulled the holeshot in moto one (and moto two actually). But Sacha Coenen was able to make quick work of him. Still Cole was riding good in second until he went down. Cole spoke on the first moto in the post-race press conference; “I changed my bike before the first moto thinking it was going to make it better, but it wasn't great. I was kind of struggling a little bit. So that was kind of what sort of led to it [the crash]. I was just struggling out there a little bit. And we got it dialed for Moto 2 though, and Moto 2 was good. But yeah, could have been a lot of a better day if I didn't go down, but it is what it is.”

Levi Kitchen was able to capitalize on Davies’ crash in moto one. Kitchen also had a crash on the opening laps, but was able to put in an incredible ride and come back to second. “I got into third going into the back and then crashed on the first lap, I think. So went back to maybe ninth or 10th. And then this track's tough when you fall, your heart rate goes up. It's just physically demanding. So, kind of to get up to that second, the first moto took a lot of my energy, and then second moto I was a little bit flat.”

That explains how Kitchen was so good in the first moto, but not as good in the second as he let rookie sand specialist Kayden Minear around for third. But still Levi’s 2-4 was good enough for second overall, a result he needed after a few bad races. Both Kitchen and Davies have speed and have won races. They have also both had crashes and bad motos. The main difference between these two is their starts. And starts may be the thing this championship comes down to.

Davies pulled both holeshots at Southwick, “I had two holeshots today. My starts are unreal, so just get off to good start and ride like I know I can and should be good. Just go have fun too. I've started the sport just to have fun.”

Meanwhile, Kitchen has been working on his starts as well, but as one of the taller racers in the class, he feels his weight hinders him off the line. In fact, while Cole is pulling holeshots, Levi is happy with top five, “I've been working on them a lot and that's probably my biggest takeaway today. I came around fifth and second. So that's a win. I executed two great starts. Today was much better. Seth [Hammker] and Nick [Romano], they've been upfront, but they're probably 30 pounds lighter than me, maybe. It makes a little bit of a difference sometimes.”

With Shimoda out, Sacha Coenen back at MXGP and Julien Beaumer sitting 31 points back, these two have pulled away. Beaumer really needs a victory to climb back into this. Spring Creek is also the location of Kitchen’s first Pro Motocross win, where he went 1-1 in 2024. Could Spring Creek kick off another win streak for Kitchen? Will we see the red plate change hands again? Or will Davies use his good starts to pick off more moto wins and open things back up?