Adam Cianciarulo brings his up-and-down dirt-bike career to an end; what's next?

When you think of great racers who grew up in the Daytona area, you naturally think of four-wheel hot-rodders like Fireball Roberts and Marshall Teague.

Of the two-wheel crowd, specifically the dirt-bikers, no one crashed the gate with more promise than Port Orange native Adam Cianciarulo, who just wrapped up his career at the ripe old age of 27. He parked the bike two weeks ago at the conclusion of the AMA Supercross season, instead of ending things at the conclusion of the Motocross season later in the year.

Not the first time his plans had changed in a career that began when you could count his age on one hand.

Compared to Fireball and Marshall, whose careers both ended in tragedy, Adam was rather lucky, even if it didn’t always seem that way.

The promise he showed as the youngest of amateurs was validated when he was able, but too often he wasn’t able, due to injuries in a sport where pain and scalpels are as commonplace as goggles.

The word “prodigy” is thrown around a lot and sometimes it truly fits. With Cianciarulo, it fit. After he started racing competitively at the age of 4, he started piling up trophies and would eventually become the most decorated amateur mini-bike racer in history.

At 16, he turned pro, joined the Kawasaki camp, and remained there throughout his turbulent career. As is the norm, he began in the AMA’s 250 class, where he won his first career start and, later, a championship, even as the injuries began to interfere.

He found quick success once he was promoted to the premier 450 class, but injury issues soon returned and the rest of his career was a battle.

Today, Cianciarulo lives in California but returns occasionally to visit family members who have repositioned just south of Port Orange in the New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater areas.

He recently talked about the challenges through his career, his earliest racing history, and what he’s hoping the future holds now that he’s off the saddle.

Not a lot of places to practice motocross around your hometown. How’d you make it work when you were a kid?

“My first racing was at the Pax Trax in Bunnell. I also spent a lot of time riding in Bithlo. Rode there a lot. Up in Ocala a lot, too, and Okeechobee.

“Nowadays kids will move to a training facility so everything is there for them and they’re able to ride every day. When I was growing up, that wasn’t really a thing. We just drove everywhere. We’d get in the car sometimes and drive two or three hours to practice.”

As rough as it’s been, it seems you forged a career and lasted longer than others might have, given the circumstances.

“Because I was such a good amateur, I’ve always been under the spotlight in the sport. It seems like every time in my career, when I came back people always, up until recently, expected me to win. I’ve been fortunate to have had such a pedigree as a younger guy, a proven winner, and having the speed to win. Kawasaki really stood by me in those times.

“A lot of riders, they come in as a hotshot amateur and they have a big injury and they’re out, and you really only get one chance sometimes to get it done. Then it’s time to go to school and get a real job. I was lucky to have Kawasaki’s support. Early in my career, it definitely could’ve gone either way.”

Can’t talk about your career without talking about the injuries that held you back.

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride the whole time. It’s like the best of times, the worst of times.

"I’ve always been a little behind the 8-ball in terms of trying to stay healthy, which unfortunately is a common occurrence in our sport. I think my injuries get a lot of attention, but it really is such a common thing in the sport.”

I’ve read a lot about your problems coming from an ulnar nerve issue in your right arm. Is that the culprit?

“There are a lot of different answers on what this thing could be. I woke up one day in 2019, right after I won that 250 championship, and for whatever reason, my right arm was just that way. I started to lose strength in it. It’s been affecting me since then. I’ve flown all over the world trying to figure this out.

“I’ve tried every different exercise, and obviously MRIs, Cat scans, X-rays, everything you could possibly think of. I’ve had probably 10 surgeries to try to correct it. Just going off every little lead. I even did stem-cell treatments to try to grow those nerves back.”

How did you damage it?

“The best explanation I have for it now is, I dislocated my shoulders a lot growing up. Basically, I stretched out these nerve endings on the top of my shoulder, and so it affects how effectively it can send a signal to my arm. It’s been incredibly frustrating. We could sit and talk about this for days.”

How tough has it been to know you’re not at your best physically?

“It’s frustrating because now I feel like I have the racing mind to be at a championship level. I felt I could’ve developed into that. But I feel like the body has kinda let me down.”

What’s next for you?

“I know nothing else in my life other than waking up and figuring out how to go fast on a dirt bike. I’ve been thinking about it more and more, what I’m doing next. My goal is to be the voice of Supercross someday. I think I’ll be doing a little bit of TV work this summer, but nothing is for sure yet. We’re figuring it out.

“I’ve always felt comfortable in front of the camera. And I still love this sport with everything in me, even with the hard times. It’s the best.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Adam Cianciarulo parks the dirt bike; what's next for Kawasaki rider?