Jacob Hayes: I’ve just been trying to take it all in. It’s a big learning curve. I can’t even put it into words. When you show up at the stadium it’s just like, “Wow.” It takes you back. The scenery and everything is a lot larger-scale. That’s been pretty cool, and I’ve been trying to take it in as much as I can every weekend. I catch myself on the line looking up at everything and saying, “Wow, this is sick!” I get to race in front of all these people in these big stadiums. That’s been the coolest part for me, just getting to race in these big stadiums that I’ve watched other people race in for years and years.
Supercross is where you’ve wanted to be for a long time. What was it like finally being at A1 to race?
We’ll, I’d only been to Anaheim once before, and that was in 2015. But being there to race versus spectate is a totally different feeling. Going down the tunnel for press day, it’s like I made it. And by that I mean I made it to supercross. I battled many, many years in arenacross to win the championship, and being able to move on to supercross was such a feeling of accomplishment. I felt like after the amateurs I struggled for a few years, did arenacross, and really picked myself up from rock bottom. I worked really, really hard just to get to the first round of supercross, just to be there. So to be at Anaheim was a surreal feeling.
Was it emotional for you?
You try to block out any emotion you have when you’re racing, just because it’s a distraction. But there were times when I got a little choked up. Sitting on the line it was like, “Dude, I’m here.” It’s what I worked for my whole life. I remember in 2009 I won Loretta’s on a 125, and even then, when I was just a little guy, I wanted to go race supercross. I was already dreaming of racing supercross in 2009! Now, ten years later, I’m racing my first Anaheim 1 ever. So yeah, at times I’d say I was getting a little emotional and a little caught up in the moment. At the same time, there was a lot of racing to do, so I tried to focus on that as much as I could.
The fine detail in everything. There’s so much more pressure, so many more eyes, and so much more going on. In arenacross it was so much more laid back. We just showed up, did our own thing, and went home. It was just myself and a mechanic. There are so many more people involved in supercross. Just on my team, I’ve got my trainer, Seth Rarick, team manager, Christina Denney, you’ve got a video guy, your mechanic, a crew chief—there’s just much more of everything. The riders are obviously way, way faster too. As far as the track, I’ve spent many years on supercross tracks, so nothing has really stood out there, other than the whoops. In arenacross they built the whoops really fat and round, whereas the supercross ones, in my opinion, are a little bit sharper, so dropping the front end is definitely not something you want to do.
You’re definitely no stranger to racing, but have you encountered anything unexpected so far?
Well, I knew the competition was going to be tough. Everyone is going for the same thing, and with all the money that’s on the line, it’s dog-eat-dog out there. Everyone is fighting, even in practice, which is actually one thing that’s surprised me. Everyone goes for it in practice much more than I ever could have expected. We did a start in Glendale and it was like we were doing a main-event start. We were all wide open! I’ve been bumped, and have bumped, more people in practice than I have in racing so far. You’re trying to get your laps in and trying to get a clear track, so everyone’s jockeying for position for the first few laps before it calms down. The first few laps are wild.
In arenacross there was only like nine or ten of us on the track at a time, and we’d all take off one at a time and roll around for a few laps and spread out. There was definitely no racing to the first corner, that’s for sure. Everyone just kind of minded their own business. I know they do in supercross too—people try to get out of each other’s way, but incidents do happen where you’re trying to move and you end up screwing someone else up. In Anaheim it caught me off guard. I got shuffled back quickly in practice, and I was not expecting that at all. I pulled up and it was like, “This is crazy!”
Yeah, it feels like I’m on a 50 again! I haven’t done stuff like that since I was on a 50 at a local race. It’s pretty wild. I want to be up front, and so do the other guys. You’re right, I felt myself inching forward and I’m like, “Okay, you can stop, none of us can go until the green flag.” But then they inch forward and it’s like, “Well screw this, I’m going to inch forward too!”
What’s life like on the Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha team?
It’s great. We all get along really well. I’d talked to a bunch of the big teams, but nothing ever really came out of it. Many people might say I’m an arenacross-only guy. I didn’t even have any results in supercross—I’d never done one. So for Christina to take a gamble on me, I’m super thankful for that. It’s so hard to go out there and do it on your own. The bikes are so competitive, and it’s hard to compete with that. I’m just super thankful to have gotten this opportunity from Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha. I think a lot of people believed I could get the job done, but it’s a whole different thing to pull the trigger and do it. I’m here to play, I have the speed, and I have what it takes to be up there. It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together. and I’m very grateful to be given the chance to do it. 
