2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings after zMax Dragway

Jett Lawrence proved to be fallible at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina but he had enough of a head of steam with his perfect Pro Motocross record that it did not cost him the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings lead.

The Supercross elements of the track threw Lawrence off his rhythm just enough to impair his starts. And being forced to come from the middle of the pack in Moto 1 was enough to ruin his day. He finished outside the top five in that race and got a slow start to Moto 2 also. This time, he was able to ride into second-place and salvage a top-five in the overall. With the streak broken and the pressure off his back, a relaxed Lawrence will be stronger at Chicagoland Speedway. Common belief is that this track will have more motocross elements and that should suit his riding style.

Chase Sexton did not get the overall lead in the Power Rankings, but there was an audible sigh of relief from him in the postrace news conference. The frustration of being second to the same rider in practically every Motocross race was palpable especially when the media started to question his riding ability. That query was answered as the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross won both motos at zMax and the overall.

MORE: Chase Sexton ends Jett Lawrence win streak

There was no rust on Ken Roczen this week as he returned to the American-based SuperMotocross series after spending time overseas racing with the World Supercross Championship. He finished third in both motos which was good enough to take the second position overall. He's fifth in the SuperMotocross standings but with the points doubled this week at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL and tripled for the season finale at the LA Coliseum, he is well withing striking distance.

Aaron Plessinger came into the SMX Playoffs seeded second and finished sixth at zMax. That allowed him to tie Lawrence for second in points with the Motocross champion getting the tiebreaker. That was only the second time since he returned to action at Salt Lake City that he finished outside the top five.

Finishing fifth overall at zMax Dragway, Jason Anderson stretched his top-five streak to three consecutive races. With the unique points system in play for the championship, Anderson needs only one strong run to be in the conversation for the inaugural title even though he is currently ranked sixth in points.

250 Rankings

Jo Shimoda has surged to the top of the Power Rankings with back-to-back success at Ironman in the Pro Motocross finale and zMax in the playoff opener. More importantly, he has a share of the points' lead with Haiden Deegan and is seeded first by the tiebreaker. In each of the last two weeks, he was pleasantly surprised to learn of his success from the top of the box - at Ironman he kept a streak alive for Kawasaki; at zMax, he thought his fourth in Moto 1 was too far back to challenge for the overall.

French-born Tom Vialle is another international rider who has come on strong in the last two races. His third-place finish in the first moto last week and second in Moto 2 gave him the same number of Olympic Style points as Shimoda, but the Japanese rider earned the overall lead and three extra championship points via the tiebreaker of winning the second race.

Like his brother Jett, Hunter Lawrence got a pair of poor starts. He was not able to overcome them nearly as well, however, and finished well outside the overall top five in eighth. His No. 1 seeding entering zMax allowed Lawrence to salvage third-place in the standings, so there is still hope he will give Honda another championship to go with the five they already have in 2023.

Justin Cooper also lost some momentum last week with a 12th in Moto 1. He rebounded in the second race but was still only able to finish sixth and those results did not add very many Power Average points to his total.

With only four Motocross races to his credit this year, Jordon Smith did not enter the playoffs with a lot of bonus points. He finished fifth overall at zMax Dragway with a best of fourth in Moto 2. He's going to need to pick up the pace to challenge for the inaugural 250 SuperMotocross championship.

* 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.

For zMax Dragway, the comparison to last week is how these riders ranked among themselves.

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