An atherectomy system includes a drive mechanism adapted to rotatably actuate an atherectomy burr and a controller that is adapted to operate the drive mechanism in a first operating mode in which the atherectomy burr is operated at a speed reference and with a predetermined torque limit. The controller is adapted to determine when the atherectomy burr becomes stuck while in the first operating mode and is further adapted to, when the atherectomy burr becomes stuck, operate the drive mechanism in a second operating mode that is different from the first operating mode.