2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Chicagoland Speedway

It didn't take long for Jett Lawrence to put his disappointing performance at zMax Dragway aside. He led every lap of Moto 1 and the first nine of 12 laps in the second race, but when he experienced pressure from Ken Roczen late in that moto, he pulled over and let him pass - safe in the knowledge that he would still have the overall victory. Perfection is no longer on his mind but he's not lost sight of the inaugural 450 SuperMotocross championship and the million dollars that accompanies it.

Chase Sexton finished second in Moto 1 and third in the second race. Lawrence's thoughts were on his teammate late in the going when he allowed Roczen to get around and with Sexton finishing third overall, the gap was closed to two points. Now the series heads to the finale at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Sexton has a slim advantage that amounts to advantage at all. Whichever of these riders finishes ahead of the other will have the points' position, but they can't get too focused on one another because Roczen is only 10 points behind.

Roczen finished second to one of the Honda teammates in the first two rounds of the playoffs. He believes it's his turn as the series heads to the birthplace of Supercross. When he announced his intention to race in the World Supercross Championship, Roczen said he wanted to become an SX specialist and this is an ideal place for him to make his last stand in 2023. He doesn't quite control his own fate because Sexton has a 10-point gap over him and the difference between first and second is only nine.

MORE: Jett Lawrence, Ken Roczen split Chicagoland motos

Aaron Plessinger scored his 12th top-five in 14 races since he returned from injury. His worst finish was an eighth at High Point, but that strong performance is largely being overlooked because of how strong the top three have been. It wasn't overlooked by Team USA, however, because the fan favorite was selected to lead the charge in three weeks at the Motocross of Nations in France.

Dylan Ferrandis has a record almost identical to Plessinger with 11 top-fives in 13 races since he climbed back on the bike following a couple of concussions sustained in Supercross. One big difference is that Ferrandis struggled in the final Pro Motocross race at Ironman and dropped to 11th in that race, which cost valuable NBC Poer Rankings points.

A little further down the order, Garrett Marchbanks has shown a lot of consistency as he climbed the ranks of the 450 class. He is seventh in the Power Rankings and likely to remain there after the season final in the LA Coliseum. Last week was his worst overall performance since moving up from 250s at Thunder Valley, however, and now he will concentrate on finishing the season strong. Sitting ninth in the points, he has an outside shot at passing two or three riders and that is the difference of $45,000.

250 Rankings

No one fully knew what to expect when Jo Shimoda returned from injury in April. In his first race back, he finished fourth at Atlanta - a track that bears some similarity to the hybrid courses used in the SuperMotocross series. Winning Ironman and the first playoff race at zMax Dragway put him on the radar screen and a second-place finish last week at Chicagoland makes him the most likely rider to deny Honda a perfect season. Shimoda trails Hunter Lawrence by three championship points heading into Los Angeles.

Both Lawrence brothers struggled in Round 1 of the playoffs and both worked on starts during the week. It paid off with a pair of victories at Chicagoland for Hunter and the reassumption of the points' lead. With nine points separating first from second this week and six between second and third, the only thing on the top three riders' minds is to stay ahead of their principle rivals.

Tom Vialle had a disastrous Moto 1 last week and finished last with a broken shifter lever. He received minimal NBC Power Rankings points and that race dropped him to 14th in the overall standings at Chicagoland, which did not do Vialle any favors. He still has a chance to climb to fourth in the standings and that would give him strong vibes heading into the offseason.

It was not that long ago that everyone was marveling over Deegan's fourth-place finish in the Houston Supercross race in February in his series debut. He backed that up with another fourth at Tampa and earned his first podium at Daytona, another outdoor course built in the infield of a NASCAR track. He can surprise the field one last time if he earns enough points to claim the inaugural SuperMotocross 250 championship and the $500,000 that goes with the trophy.

Justin Cooper has a little unfinished business before he heads to the 450 class in 2024. He's part of a nine-man scrum to finish in the top five but he needs everything to go right and most likely needs a little help from the riders ahead of him in the standings.

* 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 starters in the field until the last place rider in each event receives three points, (five in fields of 22 riders). The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days.

POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 29 ZMAX: Jo Shimoda ascends to the top of 250s
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 28 IRONMAN: The Lawrence Brothers wind up on top at end of MX
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 27 BUDDS CREEK: Hunter Lawrence reclaims top of 250s
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 26 UNADILLA: Jett Lawrence clinches MX title in style
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 25 WASHOUGAL: Haiden Deegan improves two spots in 250
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 24 SPRING CREEK: Chase Sexton closes competitive gap
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 23 SOUTHWICK: Halfway home and Jett Lawrence is still undefeated
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 21 HIGH POINT: Lawrence brothers still perfect in overall finishes
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 20 THUNDER VALLEY: Lawrence brothers dominance continues
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 19 HANGTOWN: Jett Lawrence pulls away from the field
POWER RANKINGS AFTER MX OPENER AT FOX RACEWAY: Jett Lawrence debuts in first place
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