It’s time for a new edition of SPEED SPORT Power Rankings. Who will be on top this week?
1. Max Verstappen
After a bump in the road during the third race of the season in Australia, Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has returned to dominant form with victories in Japan and this past weekend in China. He’s won four of the five races this season. The first of three visits to the United States is next on the schedule with the Miami Grand Prix set for May 5. Last Week: 2
2. William Byron
William Byron continued his recent streak of consistency, bringing his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet home seventh Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Byron leads the NASCAR Cup Series with three victories this season and has been strong on all types of race tracks. Last Week: 1
3. Jett Lawrence
Rookie Supercross racer Jett Lawrence needed a big performance and he gave one Saturday night at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Lawrence ran down Eli Tomac and collected his series-best sixth victory of the season to push himself back into the point lead with four events remaining in the campaign. Last Week: Not Ranked
4. Brad Sweet
Brad Sweet finally got his wheels under him in High Limit Racing competition and picked up a pair of victories as the series swept through Oklahoma over the weekend. With a World of Outlaws triumph earlier this season, Sweet has three triumphs this year. Last Week: Not ranked.
5. Anthony Macri
Pennsylvania ace Anthony Macri is the leading winged sprint car feature winner in the country. A week after a High Limit Racing score, Macri won Saturday’s Weldon Sterner Memorial at Lincoln Speedway and bagged the $20,000 top prize. It was his fifth win of the season, leaving Macri chomping at the bit for the early May World of Outlaws visit to the Keystone State. Last Week: 9
6. Scott Dixon
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon continues to amaze. Saving fuel throughout the second half of Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver earned his 57th career victory and jumped in the middle of the title race as he pursues a seventh series championship. Last Week: Not Ranked
7. Doug Kalitta
Doug Kalitta picked up his first NHRA victory of the season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After being outperformed by teammate Shawn Langdon early on in the season, Kalitta is again being watched carefully by the competition as the series heads to zMAX Dragway for a second consecutive four-wide race. Last Week: 4
8. David Gravel
David Gravel continues to hold a commanding lead atop the World of Outlaws standings, but had a winless weekend with the series. Gravel leads the series with three victories and will look to get back to victory lane as the series makes the first of three stops to Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway this weekend. Last Week: 3
9. Alex Palou
Reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou turned in a dominant performance to win the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club, earning the $500,000 top prize for his Chip Ganassi Racing team in March. This past weekend, he used a combination consistency and his patented hard charging to finish third in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Last Week: 6.
10. Bobby Pierce
Rain plagued this weekend for reigning World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Bobby Pierce, with a pair of features washed out. Still, Pierce has won nine late model features in 22 starts this season. Last Week: 7
On The Rise
Brad Sweet won a pair of High Limit Racing sprint car features and jumped from outside the rankings to the fourth spot. Meanwhile, after one week out of the rankings, a victory pushed Supercross point leader Jett Lawrence back to third in the power rankings.
Free Falling
Cooper Webb, Josef Newgarden and Jonathan Davenport fell out of the top 10. Webb had a chance to make a move toward a third Supercross title and came up short, while Newgarden was involved in a late-race shunt at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
One To Watch
Tyler Reddick won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and quietly ranks fourth in the standings after 10 races.