Adam Cianciarulo will return to racing for Supercross Round 9 in Indianapolis NHRA legend John Force starts 47th season while openly wondering ‘How far can you go?’

Adam Cianciarulo will return to action in Indianapolis for Round 9 of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross season after a two-week absence due to a wrist injury.

“It wasn’t one thing; it wasn’t an accident.” Cianciarulo told Motocross Action magazine during Press Day in Indianapolis.. “It wasn’t something that I specifically did to say, ‘Oh man, I hurt my wrist; I can’t drive.

“It got worse and then I showed up at Press Day in Dallas and couldn’t do it safely. I had to make that call, which is really hard to make. I’m really proud of myself because in the past I would have tried to go there and probably done something stupid.”

Last December, Cianciarulo told NBC Sports that he was entering 2023 with a new mindset. Having missed a good portion of his last few seasons in supermotocross, he has considered retirement in no small part due to a nagging wrist injury that makes it hard for him to hold the throttle.

“It sucks to miss a couple of races, but it’s better than missing the rest of the season,” said Cianciarulo, wearing the bracelet on his right wrist. “I rehabilitated a lot on it. Anything you can do on it. Went on Wednesday and felt pretty good. It’s not fantasy.”

Cianciarulo knows more than he wants to know about how to ride hurts. He started the 2022 season despite still recovering from a shoulder injury. His time on the bike was short lived, as he crashed in the third round of that season in San Diego and suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year.

A week earlier, after a disappointing trip to Auckland, Cianciarulo wrote on Instagram: “Sometimes your best result looks like a place from first to twelfth.”

He did not attribute his accident in San Diego to an overload or a shoulder injury, but apparently took the lesson he learned from the accident to heart.

“This year I didn’t really give my best,” Cianciarulo said. “Just trying to take it slow and let it come to me. You kind of need to learn how to race again and race ahead. It was my goal not to have these crazy expectations.”

Cianciarulo started the season with four results from eighth to tenth. In the 5th round, he fell to 12th and became 15th in Oakland.

Cianciarulo’s return to racing will once again test his new attitude as he restarts for the second time in 2023.

Gainesville, Florida. Years ago, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits tried to induct NHRA legend John Force into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Or rather, several times.

Force declined all invitations.

“I kept telling him, ‘There are other guys who need to come in and I’ll hopefully be a little late,'” Force said. “Eventually he called me and said, ‘You have to go.

Force, who will be 74 in two months, relented to headline the class of 2023, which was officially inducted Thursday night ahead of the NHRA season. The often colorful and always chatty Force delivered a nearly 20-minute speech that was as rambling as it was extensive in front of a crowded hotel ballroom, which included the 91-year-old Garlits.

He promised to finally pay off several ten-year-old outstanding debts and said he was working to get daughter Kourtney back on track. Courtney retired from racing in 2019 and has since given birth to two daughters.

“Why am I still doing this at my age? Because I love it,” said John Force.

The 16-time Funny Car champion has also made it clear that he is not thinking about ending his career. when it starts the Gatornationals season opener this weekend. In December, he even signed a three-year contract with Chevrolet and its main sponsor, Peak.

“How far can you go?” Force told The Associated Press. “Now I am 73 years old. I want to respect the sport, but I also want to help the sport. I want to help him grow, and right now he needs help.”

Force remains the main promoter of the NHRA and the undisputed spokesman for drag racing. He began to fulfill this role long before his first championship in 1990. He won 15 more wins, including an unprecedented 10th in a row between 1993 and 2002.

It was a special night that I enjoyed sharing with my family. Thank you Big Daddy and congratulations to all inductees. pic.twitter.com/T738OOZkUP

— John Force (@JohnForce_FC) March 10, 2023

His last title came in 2013 and he hasn’t finished higher than fourth in the past eight years. His team missed most of the 2020 season but he is back to win in 2021.

But John Force Racing continues to thrive, with daughter Brittany winning her second Top Fuel championship in six seasons in 2022, while teammates Robert Hite and Austin Prok finished second and third respectively in Funny Car and Top Fuel. Hite was three points short of winning his fourth title, a number that would have tied him with NHRA legends Kenny Bernstein and Don Prudhomme.

Meanwhile, Force enters his 47th pro season with the NHRA. He holds almost every record imaginable, including championships, final rounds (264) and competition wins (155).

RESULTS Q1.@JohnForce_FC
3.898 at 335.07 mph @BlueDEFOfficial / @headauto #TeamChevy #NHRA #Gatornats pic.twitter.com/x9qnellgAq

— John Force Racing (@JFR_Racing) March 10, 2023

“Racing is what I do,” Force said. “I didn’t really come for money or trophies. I wanted to make a living and I wanted to race. This is what I have to do. It’s easy for me.”

As a result, six Halls of Fame have been inducted, including the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2008, the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame in Fort Worth in 2011, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2012, the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, and the glory of the National Association of Motorsports in 2019.

“I lived it and I love it. He took care of me and now my family,” said Force, who is very proud to watch three of his five grandchildren race. “These kids motivate me. You live off your children. Now I live off my grandchildren.”