Ferrandis, Lawrence top MX Power Rankings after RedBud

With his third overall and second moto wins of the season, Dylan Ferrandis easily remains atop the Motocross Power Rankings for another week following the RedBud Nationals.

Ferrandis did not make it easy on himself last week. Modest starts left him deep in the field for the first half of both motos, but his strength and composure were confirmed by how he rode through the pack.

Ken Roczen stayed on Ferrandis’ back fender in Moto 1 at RedBud, but a dramatic flip midway through the second race relegated him to sixth in the race and fourth overall. He lost a little ground both in championship points and in this week’s Power Rankings, but remains second on both lists.

Three is the magical number for Aaron Plessinger. He finished third in both motos at RedBud, was third in the overall standings and landed third on the Power Rankings chart after being third last week.

Chase Sexton remains fourth after finishing 8-4 last week at RedBud. Sexton has been one of the most consistent riders in the field with overall results of either fifth or sixth in the first four rounds.

Eli Tomac is finally finding his rhythm and advanced two positions in this week’s rankings from seventh to fifth. He earned his second moto win, but came up one position shy of the overall. Both of his wins have come in Moto 2.

450 Power Rankings (Last Week)

1. Dylan Ferrandis [3 overall, 2 moto wins] (1)
2. Ken Roczen [1 overall, 3 moto wins] (2)
3. Aaron Plessinger (3)
4. Chase Sexton (4)
5. Eli Tomac [2 moto win] (7)
6. Justin Barcia (5)
7. Adam Cianciarulo [1 moto win] (6)
8. Christian Craig (10)
9. Cooper Webb (9)
10. Marvin Musquin (8)
11. Joey Savatgy (11)
12. Justin Bogle (13)
13. Max Anstie (12)
14. Coty Schock (16)
15. Fredrik Noren (15)
16. Zach Osborne (14)
17. Brandon Hartranft (17)
18. Chris Canning (21)
19. Tyler Medaglia (22)
20. Ryan Surratt (19)

In the 250 class, Jett Lawrence holds onto the top spot with a sweep of the overall podium through four rounds. He showed he was not quite perfect last week in Moto 2, however, when he got a bad start and fell in traffic. His sixth-place in that race is his worst moto finish of the season so far.

But Lawrence showed a valuable trait by avoiding the temptation to override and do more damage. He took what the bike would give him.

No ammo to fight 🧨 Jett making the most of the cards dealt 🃏 #ProMotocross pic.twitter.com/EdqSmQylAT

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) July 6, 2021

Justin Cooper struggled in Moto 1 last week to finish fourth, but he made up for it in the second race with his second moto win of the season. Along with Lawrence, he has a perfect sweep of the overall podium.

Hunter Lawrence rebounded from a bad week at High Point where he finished eight overall. He hovered around the podium at RedBud with a 3-4 and finished fourth overall.

Returning from injuries sustained in Moto 2 at Thunder Valley, Jeremy Martin landed fourth on this week’s Power Ranking. He battled through the pain of broken fingers, shoulder and wrist injuries to finish fifth in the first race and got back on the podium in Moto 2.

Garrett Marchbanks was making a slow, steady climb in the overall results until last week. He finished between fifth and seventh in overall results in the first three races, but a 10th at High Point may have shaken his confidence. He was 11th overall at RedBud with a 14-10, but maintains his fifth spot on the chart due to his early momentum.

250 Power Rankings (Last Week)

Jett Lawrence [1 overall, 3 moto wins] (1)
Justin Cooper [1 overall, 2 moto win] (2)
Hunter Lawrence (3)
Jeremy Martin [2 moto wins] (NA)
Garrett Marchbanks (4)
Colt Nichols (6)
Jalek Swoll [1 overall, 1 moto win] (5)
RJ Hampshire [1 overall] (7)
Jo Shimoda (9)
Austin Forkner (8)
Michael Mosiman (NA)
Dilan Schwartz (10)
Pierce Brown (13)
Carson Mumford (11)
Max Vohland (14)
Jarrett Frye (12)
Nate Thrasher (21)
Ty Masterpool (15)
Joshua Varize (16)
Stilez Robertson (22)

The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17^th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10^th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.