NASCAR Media Tour begins today, but drivers still in idle - MotorSportsTalk

CHARLOTTE – Remaining idle during an offseason isn’t unfamiliar to Danica Patrick, but a long layoff from NACSAR still is having an impact on her life.

“I found myself the other day driving to the airport doing things that were definitely illegal and not just speeding,” Patrick said. “I felt like that was the first (instance) of thinking I need to take out this aggression somewhere right now. So I am looking forward to getting back in a car.”

It still will be another three weeks before the gates swing open at Daytona International Speedway for the 2015 edition of NASCAR Speedweeks. But the offseason begins in earnest Monday with the 33^rd annual Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour.

Though the four-day cattle call of Sprint Cup personalities typically can become a tedious exercise of tallying which team sets the mark for recitations of being “excited” about the upcoming season, this year will mark the first time in a long while that it doesn’t come on the heels of preseason Daytona 500 testing.

That will make for fresh perspectives on the impending retirement of Jeff Gordon and a bevy of rules changes (including lower horsepower and downforce adjustments)

Drivers also will be discussing the antsy feelings of being out of their cockpits since November. New testing restrictions have sidelined much of the field since the checkered fell at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It’s a familiar feeling for Patrick, who was accustomed to offseasons that lasted up to six months while racing in the IndyCar Series from 2005-11.

“I’m not necessarily anxious because it’s coming whether I like it or not, and it goes on for nine solid months,” Patrick said. “So I know what’s coming. I’m definitely enjoying the time off before the pressure begins, and it’s time to perform every single weekend.

“I am not antsy. I also used to drive Indy cars, and we had really long offseaons. This is nothing unfamiliar to be out of the cars for almost three months.”

This will be a critical season for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver, who is entering her third full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series. Driver and sponsor contracts typically run in three-year cycles, increasing the emphasis on performance in the final year.

Patrick, who closed ’14 with new crew chief Daniel Knost in the final three races, improved her average start (22.3 from 30.1) and finish (23.7 from 26.1) last year from her rookie season. She finished a spot lower in the points standings (28th).

“I wouldn’t say I’m looking at ’15 any different than any other year,” she said. “I know they’re all important. Take for instance my first year in IndyCar. It went so well my first year, I didn’t worry so much about (years) two and three because good things have happened.

“I get nervous about every year and want to do well every year because every year can make or break the continuation. I think that ’14, while it wasn’t necessarily overall so great in the championship, it was a heck of a lot better on everything I wanted: qualifying, practice, getting up to speed better, restarts. All that stuff was way better, so the stuff I wanted to get better was. Now it’s a little bit of a sidestep to get a new crew chief and have to start over a bit in some ways. But there’s also opportunity on the other end of it if we can find a way to make things better.”

Here’s the lineup for the Media Tour, which opens today at 1:30 p.m. in the Charlotte Convention Center with a state of the union address by NASCAR Chairman Brian France. NASCAR.com will stream the formal session for each group:

Monday

–1:30 p.m.: NASCAR — Click here for live stream

–4 p.m.: Joe Gibbs Racing — Click here for live stream

Tuesday

–9 a.m.: Michael Waltrip Racing — Click here for live stream

–11 a.m.: JTG Daugherty Racing; HScott Motorsports — Click here for live stream

–1 p.m.: Stewart-Haas Racing — Click here for live stream

Wednesday

–9 a.m.: Roush Fenway Racing — Click here for live stream

–11 a.m.: Richard Petty Motorsports — Click here for live stream

–1:30 p.m.: Wood Brothers Racing — Click here for live stream

–3:15 p.m.: Team Penske — Click here for live stream

Thursday

–9 a.m.: Furniture Row Racing — Click here for live stream

–10:30 a.m.: Richard Childress Racing — Click here for live stream

–1 p.m.: Chip Ganassi Racing — Click here for live stream

–3 p.m.: Hendrick Motorsports — Click here for live stream

As the SuperMotocross season heads outdoors, the NBC Power Rankings change significantly with results from the Motocross opener at Fox Raceway in Pala, California. The Power Rankings assign a numeric value to each individual moto (90 points maximum) as well as the overall standings (100 points) and averages that number over the past 45 days. Included in the Power Rankings are results from the final five Supercross rounds, which fit into that 45-day timeframe.

*Dylan Ferrandis finished on the podium in his first race back after experience a concussion in Supercross Round 4 at Houston. – Align Media*

It didn’t take long for Jett Lawrence to rocket to the top of the SuperMotocross rankings – only about 74 minutes in fact. Lawrence dominated his first moto and beat his teammate Chase Sexton, the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross champion, to the line by 10 seconds. He had to fight a little harder for the second moto win as Sexton stalked him throughout the race and ended up less than a second behind.

Beginning this week, we have added the SuperMotocross points’ ranking beside the rider’s name and in one fell swoop, Lawrence went from being unranked in the 450 class to 26th. To qualify for the inaugural SuperMotocross’ guaranteed 20 positions that automatically make the gate for the three-race championship series, Lawrence needs to be inside the top 20 in combined Supercross and Motocross points. The bubble is currently held by Justin Starling and Lawrence needs to make up 44 points to overtake him.

Sexton’s second-place finish in the overall standings at Fox Raceway marked his ninth consecutive top-five finish. After the race, Sexton compared the battle he had with Lawrence to the one he experienced with Eli Tomac in last year’s Pro Motocross championship. These two riders had a significant advantage over the field in Pala, but there is still a lot of racing to be completed.

MORE: Jett Lawrence wastes no time, wins first 450 race

After missing 13 rounds to a concussion, Dylan Ferrandis told NBC Sports that he was not going to do anything risky in the season opener at Fox Raceway. If he dialed back his effort at all, one would be hard-pressed to notice. He finished third in both motos and was third in the overall standings. Ferrandis began the weekend just outside the top 20 in combined SuperMotocross points and climbed to 19th. In the next few weeks, he will get a little more breathing room over the cutline and then challenge for wins.

Adam Cianciarulo’s three-race streak of top-five finishes ended with a sixth-place overall at Fox Raceway, but that was enough to advance him one position in the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings and land him eighth in the combined points standings. His individual motos were moderate, but Cianciarulo is still battling the effects of injury and a nagging loss of strength in his wrist.

Aaron Plessinger returned from injury in the Supercross season finale to finish second at Salt Lake City. He added another top-five to his season total and now has six of those in the 13 rounds he’s made. With Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac not currently racing in Motocross, Plessinger has an opportunity to rise to the third seeding in short order.

450 Rankings

This Week	Driver (SMX rank)	Power Avg.	Last Week	Diff.
1.	Jett Lawrence (26)	93.33		NA
2.	Chase Sexton (1)	92.36	1	-1
3.	Dylan Ferrandis (19)	89.00		NA
4.	Adam Cianciarulo (8)	82.89	5	1
5.	Aaron Plessinger (5)	81.20	9	4
6.	Justin Hill (9) Not racing MX	79.75	8	2
7.	Ken Roczen (4) injured \| Not racing MX	79.13	3	-4
8.	Jose Butron (30)	75.67		NA
9.	Lorenzo Locurcio (29)	75.00		NA
10.	Eli Tomac (2) injured	74.50	2	-8
11.	Dean Wilson (10) Not racing MX	72.88	7	-4
12.	Cooper Webb (3)	71.17	6	-6
13.	Jerry Robin (32)	70.33		NA
14.	Justin Barcia (6) injured	70.00	4	-10
15.	Kyle Chisholm (15)	65.36	11	-4
16.	Dante Oliveira (36)	65.00		NA
17.	Shane McElrath (11) Not racing MX	63.63	12	-5
18.	Ryan Surratt (38)	63.33		NA
19.	Josh Hill (13) Not racing MX	62.38	13	-6
20.	Justin Starling (20) Not racing MX	62.13	19	-1

Motocross 450 Points

A bad start to Moto 1 at Fox Raceway was not enough to deter Hunter Lawrence. Neither was the fact that he was riding with sore ribs after experiencing a practice crash earlier in the week. He was a distant 10th to start the first race and for most of the 30 minutes, it seemed he would finish off the podium. Lawrence did not win the 250 East Supercross championship by giving in to hopelessness or pain, however.

Lawrence picked off one rider and then another until he found the battle for the top five in front of him at the halfway point. Once the field started to lap riders, Lawrence used the opportunity to continue forward through the grid. He passed third-place Jo Shimoda with two laps remaining and challenged Maximus Vohland for second on the final trip around Fox Raceway, but had to settle for the final spot on the podium. Lawrence dominated Moto 2 and claimed the overall victory in Pala.

Justin Cooper made his first start of the season at Fox Raceway and earned enough NBC Power Average points to climb to second. Partly this was due to consistently strong runs in both motos and a 5-4 that gave him the fifth position overall, but he is also not weighed down with moderate Supercross results. It will take a week or two to see where his strength lands him on the grid.

Motocross 250 Points

*In only his third Pro Motocross National, Haiden Deegan scored a second-place finish in the overall standings. – Align Media*

RJ Hampshire may feel he has something to prove after finishing second to Jett Lawrence in the 250 SX West division. He certainly rode like that was the case in Moto 1 and easily outpaced the field on his way to victory lane. In Moto 2, he crashed twice on Lap 1 and dropped back to 39th. It took half of the race to get inside the top 20 and salvage points. By the end of the race, he was 11th and while that was enough to get him on the overall podium, it cost him points in the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings.

Haiden Deegan surprised the field in Houston in his 250 Supercross debut by finishing fifth. At the time, he said his strong result was because there were no expectations. He echoed that statement after the Motocross season opener. His second-place finish in the overall standings was enough to project him five positions up the SuperMotocross Rankings. In 11 rounds in the combined series, Deegan has earned seven top-fives and a worst finish of eighth.

Jo Shimoda did not make his first Supercross race of 2023 until late in the season. He finished fourth on the hybrid track of Atlanta, which had some similar elements to Fox Raceway. His fourth-place finish in Moto 1 of the Motocross opener made it seem likely he would score an overall podium, but a sixth in the second race cost him points in the NBC Power Rankings in a field that promises to be extremely tight.

250 Rankings

This Week	Driver (SMX rank)	Power Avg.	Last Week	Diff.
1.	Hunter Lawrence (1)	89.56	2	1
2.	Justin Cooper (42)	84.67		NA
3.	RJ Hampshire (3)	83.67	3	0
3.	Haiden Deegan (4)	83.67	8	5
5.	Jo Shimoda (16)	82.33	7	2
6.	Guillem Farres (46)	79.33		NA
7.	Levi Kitchen (6)	79.11	5	-2
8.	Max Anstie (5)	77.83	12	4
9.	Max Vohland (8)	77.50	14	5
10.	Enzo Lopes (10)	76.00	11	1
11.	Mitchell Oldenburg (13)	74.25	16	5
12.	Carson Mumford (19)	71.22	17	5
13.	Jordon Smith (7)	70.56	9	-4
14.	Ryder DiFrancesco (48)	70.33		NA
15.	Chris Blose (12)	67.00	13	-2
16.	Chance Hymas (27)	66.00	19	3
17.	Tom Vialle (9)	65.78	18	1
18.	Jett Reynolds (55)	63.33		NA
19.	Michael Mosiman (28)	62.33	20	1
20.	Garrett Marchbanks (64)	59.00		NA

* The NBC Power Rankings assign 100 points to a Main event winner in Supercross and overall winner in Motocross. It awards 90 points for each Moto, Heat and Triple Crown win. The points decrement by a percentage equal to the number of riders in the field until the last place rider in each event receives five points. The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days.

POWER RANKINGS AFTER SX FINALE AT SALT LAKE CITY: Chase Sexton ends with win
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 15 AT NASHVILLE: Eli Tomac back on top
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 14 AT NEW JERSEY: The top 20 settle in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 13 AT ATLANTA: Justin Barcia leapfrogs the Big 3
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 12 AT GLENDALE: Eli Tomac gains momentum
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 11 AT SEATTLE: Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac overtake Chase Sexton
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 10 AT DETROIT: Chase Sexton narrowly leads Webb
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 8 AT DAYTONA: Chase Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 7 AT ARLINGTON: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 6 AT OAKLAND: Perfect night keeps Eli Tomac first
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 5 AT TAMPA: Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb close in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 4 AT HOUSTON: Eli Tomac rebounds from A2 crash, retakes lead
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 3 AT ANAHEIM 2: Consistency makes Ken Roczen king
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 2 AT SAN DIEGO: Ken Roczen moves up, Chase Sexton falls
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1 AT ANAHEIM 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence gain an early advantage

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