Dylan Ferrandis remains perfect, still tops Motocross Power Rankings after Ironman

By Aug 31, 2021, 6:48 PM EDT
Motocross Rankings Ironman
ProMotocross.com / Align Media
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Dylan Ferrandis kept his perfect record of overall podiums alive with last week’s second-place finish at Ironman Raceway and remains atop the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Power Rankings.

In addition to his perfect overall record, Ferrandis failed to finish in the top three in only two individual motos this year. He was fifth in Moto 2 at Spring Creek and again in the next moto at Washougal. Since then, he has finished first or second in five of six motos.

Ferrandis left Crawfordsville, Ind. with a 50-point margin over Ken Roczen in the championship standings. If he leaves next week’s race at Fox Raceway in Pala, Calif., with that same advantage, he will clinch the 450 title with one round remaining.

“All I can say is it’s better late than never,” Tomac declared last week after winning his first moto and taking his first overall victory of the season. His overall win came with a 2-1, giving him four moto podiums in the last six races.

The Motocross Power Rankings looks back at a 45-day period in order to reward riders for recent momentum. Roczen’s crash and DNF at Spring Creek is just now aging out of the formula, which allowed him to rise from fifth to third. He has five podium finishes in his last six motos.

Chase Sexton slips down the rankings one position this week after finishing off the podium in three consecutive motos. The competition is stiff for the top three, but Sexton left Ironman with his fifth consecutive top-five in overall finishes.

Last week, Marvin Musquin could not ride because of COVID-19 protocols. He has five top-five moto finishes in his last six attempts that includes a 4-4 at Unadilla that gave him the third finish overall.

As a privateer, Kyle Chisholm does not get an opportunity to ride very often, but he finally got enough seat time to debut on the list 11th with an 11th overall at Budds Creek and a 10th-place finish at Ironman.

450 Power Rankings (Last Week)

    1. Dylan Ferrandis [5 overall, 6 moto wins] (1)
    2. Eli Tomac [2 overall, 4 moto wins] (2)
    3. Ken Roczen [2 overall, 7 moto wins] (5)
    4. Chase Sexton [1 overall, 1 moto win] (3)
    5. Marvin Musquin (4)
    6. Cooper Webb (6)
    7. Joey Savatgy (7)
    8. Max Anstie (8)
    9. Coty Schock (14)
    10. Justin Bogle (12)
    11. Kyle Chisholm (NA)
    12. Brandon Hartranft (11)
    13. Ryan Surratt (17)
    14. Jeremy Hand (20)
    15. Chris Canning (13)
    16. Jacob Runkles (16)
    17. Justin Rodbell (15)
    18. Ben Lamay (18)
    19. Tyler Stepek (21)
    20. Jace Kessler (25)

In 250s, injury finally caught up to Jeremy Martin.

He was the hottest rider on the circuit entering Ironman and was chasing down Jett Lawrence in Moto 1 when he crashed and finished 37th. Martin’s wrist was fractured entering the race and the fall completed the break, so he has retired for the season and was removed from the top spot.

With a perfect showing at Ironman, Lawrence took the red plate from Justin Cooper and jumped to the top spot in the Motocross Power Rankings. With two overall wins and a second in the last three rounds, he is now the hottest rider in the 250 class.

Cooper ranks second this week on the strength of a perfect record of top-five overall finishes in the first 10 rounds. He seems to be losing just a little momentum, however, with four results of fourth in his last six motos.

Michael Mosiman was removed from the list when he sustained an injury. Last week, he climbed onto the podium in Moto 1 and finished sixth in the second race. He reemerges in third.

RJ Hampshire is ranked fourth this week, but his position among the top five is tenuous. He finished second in Moto 2 last week at Ironman, but that is his only podium in the last four motos.

Hunter Lawrence rounds out the top five. He has one podium finish in his last 10 motos, but five results of sixth or better that has allowed him to earn consistent, top-10 overall finishes.

250 Power Rankings (Last Week)

  1. Jett Lawrence [2 overall, 4 moto wins] (3)
  2. Justin Cooper [1 overall, 5 moto wins] (2)
  3. Michael Mosiman (NA)
  4. RJ Hampshire [1 overall] (5)
  5. Hunter Lawrence [1 overall, 2 moto wins] (4)
  6. Ty Masterpool (14)
  7. Austin Forkner (7)
  8. Dilan Schwartz (8)
  9. Jo Shimoda (10)
  10. Carson Mumford (9)
  11. Max Vohland (6)
  12. Jarrett Frye (13)
  13. Preston Kilroy (12)
  14. Levi Kitchen (11)
  15. Joshua Varize (17)
  16. Jalek Swoll [1 overall, 1 moto win] (15)
  17. Kaeden Amerine (NA)
  18. Devin Simonson (NA)
  19. Christopher Prebula (26)
  20. Brandon Scharer (20)

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Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

By May 30, 2023, 6:00 PM EDT
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INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.