Photos by: Chase Yocom
The biggest question mark heading into the 2017 Eastern Regional 250SX Championship hung over the name Adam Cianciarulo. The Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki rider had not raced a single SX race since way back at the 2014 Toronto SX where he injured his shoulder and began a long streak of injuries to follow. Not only was 2014 the last year the #36 raced SX, it was also the amateur phenom’s rookie season. Adam finished just five Supercross main events in his rookie season. Of these, he won three and finished second in the other two, so there has never been doubt about his skill.
When all you have done over your SX career is finish first or second, it’s probably easy to get ahead of yourself when coming back after more than two years off, but over the first three rounds of the 2017 250SX East season, Adam has taken his time. He finished fourth in Minneapolis, sixth in Atlanta and grabbed a second for his first podium of the year in Toronto. He definitely carried that momentum into Daytona with him.
At the 2017 Daytona SX main event, Adam got to the lead off the start and decided it was time to get back to the top of the podium. With his teammate Joey Savatgy shadowing his every move, Adam rode a near perfect main event. He and Joey rode their own race at the front and gapped the rest of the field by more than 15 seconds before the checkered flag. In the end, Adam led all 15 laps on the way to his fourth career win, and after the win he screamed out loud for anyone that would listen, “I’m back!” We cannot argue that.
Good to see a local—Port Orange, Florida about six miles from here—win here at Daytona. You did a bunch of media earlier in the week about coming back here, and you said it would be very special. Tonight you won the Daytona SX. Can you talk about how that felt and what it means to you?
It’s just surreal! Growing up here, it was the first SX we ever went to. I didn’t have any idea about the sport or anything. It was just kind of one of those family deals. When I was three or four years old, back when it was a night race, still watching RC [Ricky Carmichael], MC [Jeremy McGrath] back in the day. It was kind of where I fell in love with the sport. Getting close to winning here when I was here my first time in 2014 and then just kind of going through everything I’ve gone through since then, to get back here and to win my first one in three years in front of my home crowd, it was unbelievable.
Talk about the race. You took the lead right off the bat and held it for 15 laps. Did you feel the pressure for that position? Did you feel the energy of the crowd there towards the end? What got you through it?
Yeah, actually I felt really good all day, and I was really, really confident in my riding. I knew in the heat race I got a good start, but I went past the corner and was in like sixth. Everybody in my camp too was like, “Dude, you rode really good,” and I got fourth. I knew I was going to have to get a good start to be successful today; it was so one-lined, especially in the sand. It was ridiculous. I was actually running a paddle tire just to get through there a little bit better. I was able to sneak by Joey [Savatgy] there. I actually lined up next to him—which we’re not supposed to do really. Mitch [Payton] isn’t a big fan of that. I was rolling into the gate and my mechanic, he got some heat over the headset about me lining up next to Joey. I was like, “Dude, I’m sorry, but this is the only decent rut left available.” Luckily he got actually a better jump than me. I just followed him, and I was able to square under him. I knew if I didn’t square under him there I was probably going to get second. I was able to get that done, and I told him, “Every time I went through the sand, I was trying to blow those things up to get a little bit of a gap on him,” but it was good.
Tell me the raw emotion that you felt right when you took the checkered flag to get the win.
I think for me it’s just been three years of just me thinking about that moment, just anywhere. I could be driving to Starbucks in the morning, and it’s like, “What am I going to say on the podium after I win again?” It’s surreal. I just wanted it so bad and just to kind of have it all—and just here at Daytona right where I grew up. I’m staying with my parents this week. It’s just crazy. You just don’t know it’s going to happen like this. I’ve gone through a lot and it sucked, but just this moment in itself is worth it just to get back here. You know, the emotions are incredible.
I saw that you are nine points out of the lead with the win. That’s got to mean something, getting these points and zeroing in on that championship.
Yeah, definitely. I think the goal coming in here today was definitely to take some points away from Zach [Osborne]. Obviously for myself, I want a good result but it’s kind of a short series with the split coast—the East and the West. It’s kind of short. You got to make it happen. I kind of sort of needed to go the other way starting this weekend, and luckily I was able to make up some points. I was eighteen points down coming in here, and I think I’m nine, eight or seven points down now. We still have a long way to go; a lot can happen. We still have seven points to make up, and I’m just stoked. Getting the podium last weekend in Toronto and getting a win here, I feel like the momentum is on our side. I think we can capitalize on that going forward.
It looked like one end of the course favored Joey, and one end of the course favored you. The gap would kind of shrink and grow there. Were you feeling that pressure? Were you watching, or could you hear him back there?
To be honest with you, I came today and I was like… I put so much pressure on myself the first few races and I almost said today… It’s hard to explain to somebody. You ride and you race, but there’s a difference between riding and racing and being locked in and being conscious while you’re out there. There’s a time in that main event where I was actually going through the sand and I was like conscious and I was like, I was feeling the pressure. I was starting to make some mistakes. It’s easy to give in at that point. I thought to myself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” I’m gonna wake up tomorrow. I’m gonna drive back to my house. I’m going to wake up Monday morning and I’m going to go to the track. You almost put this fake consequence in your mind. That pressure it’s not really real. It’s just something you create for yourself, and I thought of that going into the sand section, going into the left-hand corner before the sand. I was like, “You know what? We got like five to go. Let’s do this thing.” To answer your question, Joey was hitting that three-three still, and I told him, I said, “I did it the first few laps and I cased it one time.” I was like, “If you’re gonna keep doing that, go for it.” It’s a little sketchy for me.
