Displaying periods of phenomenal speed and race-craft last week in Maryland, Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo appeared to be excited about his current trajectory prior to practice beginning in Indiana. Moto by moto, with the prowess of “AC” continue to climb, racing some of his highest points of the year (thus far) when nearing the conclusion of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The Floridian’s efforts in practice were astonishing, where he would nearly drag the handlebars in the switchback section that preceded the finish-line jump — carrying an identical pace into moto-one, where he secured fourth as the clock began to tick. Scrubbing his way through the newfound set of obstacles beneath the overhead catwalk, Adam’s momentum into the subtle wall jump would lead to a thrashing of the suspension that could be felt by all within the area...but the smallest bits of momentum were critical as he attempted to pull away from Jason Anderson who pursued him. He would do so for a brief while, before being passed by the New Mexico native, Dylan Ferrandis, and Aaron Plessinger; but the Floridian was the furthest from discouraged. “AC” was exceptional amongst the rutted canvas, where he remained smooth as the track grew rougher and began to synchronize his style with the chassis beneath him. After lap six, it was a process of safeguarding the sixth-place position from that of Garrett Marchbanks who followed. With patience and persistence, the former 250cc champion would do just that, keeping the younger Marchbanks at bay as the sped through the thirty-minute (plus) trial. Eventually finalized in sixth, Cianciarulo would be excited to compete once more. He would rekindle the aggressive mentality prior to the thirty-second board going sideways for the first moto, where the Kawasaki athlete would upshift through the transmission as quickly as possible to gather another sixth-place standing as the green flag waved. Though being passed by his teammate (Jason Anderson) shortly thereafter, he would regain the aforementioned standing by surging forward (and around) that of Phil Nicoletti — with Justin Barcia then becoming the next adversary for him to attempt and topple. But Barcia was exhibiting quite the pace on the deteriorated Ironman circuit, with Cianciarulo forced to elevate his speed amongst the rolling rhythm lane on laps fourteen through seventeen in order to conduct a final surge of sorts...but “AC” would have to settle for the sixth-place standing as action concluded on the racetrack, which was still a remarkable accolade to collect given the level of opponents he was facing. And with the multitude of sixth-place scores, his final overall standing of fifth, was certainly well deserved.