2022 Supercross Power Rankings after Round 2: Justin Barcia takes the top spot from Ken Roczen

By Jan 18, 2022, 8:00 PM EST
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With podium finishes in Anaheim 1 and Oakland, Justin Barcia climbed to the top of the Supercross Power Rankings after Round 2.

Through two rounds, Barcia has been the model of consistency with third-place finishes in both mains as well as a third- and fourth-place effort in the heats. One of Barcia’s biggest concerns after winning last year’s opener at Houston was whether he would be able to stay in the hunt for the entire season.

It’s too soon to make predictions for the coming 15 rounds, but Barcia’s strong start is encouraging.

With a heat win last week in Oakland and a fourth-place finish in the main, Eli Tomac advanced three spots in the Supercross Power Rankings to land second on the chart. Tomac continues to struggle with his starts and finished nearly 10 seconds behind the leader in Oakland, but there is no denying his ability to move through the field.

Chase Sexton was poised to move up the standings after winning his second heat of the season but lost a position instead after finishing ninth in the main.

MORE: Jason Anderson, Aaron Plessinger finish 1-2 at Oakland, shake up points’ standings

News was equally bad for Sexton’s teammate, Ken Roczen. He suffered a hard fall in the whoops midway through the Oakland race and after remounting his bike was able to advance to only 13th. Roczen lost the red plate to Barcia and plunged from first to fourth in the rankings.

Justin Barcia moved past Ken Roczen in the Supercross Power Rankings after scoring back-to-back podiums in the Anaheim and Oakland features. (Feld Entertainment)

Rounding out the top five this week is Aaron Plessinger, who preceded his runner-up finish in the Oakland main with a third-place finish in his heat.

Cooper Webb was not as fortunate.

“A lot of obstacles to overcome throughout this week, so I’m glad to put Oakland behind us,” Webb posted on Twitter following the race. “Going to get my starts dialed back in and bring the Stars and Stripes to San Diego.”

Webb fell three positions to sixth in the standings after finishing seventh in Round 2 at Oakland.

Last week’s winning rider, Jason Anderson, advanced three positions in the Power Rankings, but failed to crack the top five because of a modest showing at Anaheim 1. He landed eighth on the chart after being 11th following Anaheim.

Anderson was one of two riders who debuted in the top 10 this week.

After a disastrous 16th-place finish in Anaheim 1, Dylan Ferrandis was 16th on the Power Rankings chart. With a fifth in his Oakland heat and sixth in the main, Ferrandis climbed six positions, the most of any rider, and landed 10th in the Supercross Rankings after Round 2.

450 Rankings

1. Justin Barcia (last week: 4)
2. Eli Tomac (5); [1 heat win]
3. Chase Sexton (2); [2 heat wins]
4. Ken Roczen (1); [1 feature, 1 heat win]
5. Aaron Plessinger (8)
6. Malcolm Stewart (6)
6. Cooper Webb (3)
8. Jason Anderson (11); [1 feature win]
9. Marvin Musquin (7)
10. Dylan Ferrandis (16)
11. Joey Savatgy (9)
12. Adam Cianciarulo (12)
13. Dean Wilson (15)
14. Shane McElrath (14)
15. Max Anstie (13)
16. Brandon Hartranft (18)
17. Justin Starling (22)
18. Cade Clason (19)
19. Kyle Chisholm (23)
20. Justin Bogle (24)

Last week’s top three 250 riders held their positions.

With a sweep of both heats and mains in the first two 250 West rounds, there is no argument Christian Craig deserves the top spot. It will take a big mistake by Craig to allow the competition to overtake him next week at San Diego.

Seth Hammaker and Hunter Lawrence also swept the podium in their first two races, but swapped positions last week. Hammaker secured the second spot in the rankings because he has been more consistent in his heats and stood on the podium twice with a second at Anaheim and third at Oakland.

Lawrence has been almost perfect, but missed the podium in his Anaheim heat and finished fourth. With a razor-thin margin in the Supercross Power Rankings this early in the season, that little difference relegates him third for the second week.

Michael Mosiman moved up one position after winning his Oakland heat and finishing the main among the top five. In four races this season, he has not finished worse than sixth, which came in the main at Anaheim.

The rider Mosiman displaced did not fall very far. Garrett Marchbanks rounds out the top five after failing finish that well in a race for the first time. He swept the podium in his first two heats and finished fourth in the Anaheim main, but lost a lot of ground with an eighth-place finish in the Oakland feature.

One of the biggest movers this week was Carson Brown, who advanced from 23rd to 15th after sustaining an injury in his Anaheim heat and failing to mount up for the main. Last week’s 13th overall at Oakland was aided by a solid seventh-place finish in the heat. Brown also gets a tip of the hat for riding with stitches in his mouth after being hit by the handlebars in his Anaheim accident.

250 Rankings

1. Christian Craig (last week: 1); [2 feature, 2 heat wins]
2. Seth Hammaker (2)
3. Hunter Lawrence (3)
4. Michael Mosiman (5); [2 heat wins]
5. Garrett Marchbanks (4)
5. Vince Friese (6)
5. Jo Shimoda (7)
8. Nate Thrasher (12)
9. Chris Blose (9)
10. Carson Mumford (11)
11. Cole Thompson (14)
12. Robbie Wageman (8)
13. Dominique Thury (10)
14. Ryan Surratt (15)
15. Carson Brown (23)
16. Logan Karnow (16)
17. Devin Harriman (24)
18. Mitchell Harrison (13)
18. Hunter Schlosser (22)
20. Dilan Schwartz (21)

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 1 AT ANAHEIM: Ken Roczen, Christian Craig have a perfect weekend

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After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
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DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

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“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home (where he has yet to return in weeks) is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”