Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Arena Talk, where we talk all things AMA Arena Cross, presented by Kicker Performance Audio. I am your host, Zach Herron, as always, joined by Danny Stewart, AKA Danny Stew. And on today's episode, we are lucky enough to have the 2018 Arena Cross champion, the reigning plus 25 Loretta lynch championship, now making a name for himself as far as writer representation in the sports agency world. Jacob. Hey, Jacob. How you doing, man?
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Just excited to be here. You know, I appreciate that introduction. Danny Stu has been a longtime friend and someone I've looked up to, and when I entered the Arena Cross world, I did my first interview with him and I'm like, I cannot believe I'm in the room with Danny Stu. So kudos to him, kudos to you and just excited to be here.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Well, we're excited to have you, for sure. Now, for those of you, if you've been living under a rock, if you followed Arena Cross, especially from, say, 2014 to 2018, you probably weren't seeing any highlights without Jacob Hayes in it. You really kind of almost immediately started to take over the spotlight, bringing the battles to the champion at the time, Tyler Bowers. And then, like we said, captain off with the championship there in 2018. What we were excited to talk to you about, we've been kind of talking to current riders that are getting ready for the 2024, 2025 season, but feel like you'd be able to give some good insight as far as just maybe the, the broader picture now, obviously, like we said, moving away from a racer standpoint, obviously still handling business out at Loretta Linds every year, but now you're doing the, the sports agent stuff. You're, you're kind of getting a broader perspective on the world of motocross, supercross, Arena Cross, and can kind of maybe help inspire some of the next generation and talk about the value behind coming and racing out at AMA Arena Cross.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: For me, it was, you know, Arena Cross was in such a, a big spotlight, especially when I, when I got there, they did the, the Ricky Carmichael Road to Supercross. And that was, I think people thought that was the reason why I went to the Arena Cross in the first place, which it was not. That was just something that they had at that time.
I did an interview and this still to this day will always stay in my mind. I did an interview with Racer X and said, hey, I'm, you know, I'm gonna go race Arena Cross, try it out with the big boys. You know, I'm not scared to bang Bars, yada, yada, yada. So went to Arena Cross just to hopefully put in a result that stuck, that gave myself a, a purpose on a motorcycle. I always had good talent, good work ethic. But from amateur to pro, as most know, is a very hard transition if you're not within the right team, within the right spot. And with Team Green, I was a lifetime Team Green kid. And it just, things didn't work out for circumstances that were out of my control. So going there, I went there on a bone stock Kawasaki. I had just number plate graphics. And the first night it, luckily it worked out in my favor.
I won the head to head bracket racing and things like that and really just kind of kicked myself off to be like ready to battle with the big boys. I got third the first night and I think everyone really at that point was like, who is this kid? What is he doing? What is he doing here? And the following weekend in Baltimore, I got my first win. I led Bowers from start to finish. So. And he was the big guy, he was the big dog. He was the one to take down. And my sights were really just set on taking him down. No one else mattered to me in that event. It was just taking down Bowers and battling with him.
Came down to the end, battled a little bit. I would say I was in the conversation at times for the title, but just didn't have enough experience to really close that one out. At the end of the day, what I learned from that year was like, this is how to be a professional. This is how to deal with the traveling, this is how to deal with the pressures of being in a championship. Because in the amateurs, yes, you are at Loretta's, kind of in a championship battle, it's a three moto format and you kind of get a little pressure there, but nothing to the stage of dealing with interviews, social media, all the stuff that comes along with being an athlete and one under a microscope. Everyone just sees the short clips of here, there, here, there, and then they make their judgment. But it's a, it's a lot. So that was a big learning curve for me, was the first year just understanding and absorbing everything that was going on while I was racing and traveling.
And to be honest, I'll say this every single day that, I mean, that is what I wouldn't even say. That's what kick started my career. That's what started my career. It's not what kick started. Like I said, I had already had talent and work ethic, but I didn't have anywhere to show What I had, yes, I could have gone and raised Supercross, but unfortunately, if you don't have the backing, it's really hard to compete with those high level athletes. So the Arena Cross was a much smaller scale. Yes, the Bowers and those guys of that standard were a high level athletes and making good money, but the tracks were much shorter, much more condensed. So I felt like I was going to be able to be competitive, which I was. So that started my career and thankfully made a career out of racing Arena Cross. And this, this year I went to the Daytona Arena Cross and just loved every minute of it. Just getting to see everyone out there banging bars. Close action. I mean, you see one, you see more action. In, in my opinion, a night of racing and Arena Cross that like literally gets you up out of your seat, then, then you get in a month in Supercross. Unfortunately, you know, the Supercross is a much bigger scale. The riders have more room to not get as close. So some things may be frowned upon in Arena Cross. But it's all good, good fun racing.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: It was certainly fun to watch. And I was also at Daytona this past year and got to catch up with you. And I kind of see the nostalgia was there getting thrown back. And like Danny and I said even before we started this interview, you're still a regular name brought up throughout Arena Cross. And it's got to be cool to be able to have that legacy kind of follow you even after you exit the sport. Now, Danny, you were, you were there. Jacob just told us, you know, you kind of did his first interview. What did you see from this, this kid from North Carolina that all of a sudden just showed up on, on a bone stock bike with not even a full bike of graphics and is immediately taking it to the big bad Tyler Bowers.
[00:06:45] Speaker C: I mean, Jacob Hayes might be the reason I fell in love with Arena Cross the way I did. So his first race in Worcester was my first race. And probably similar to Jacob, when the opportunity to go to Arena Cross presented itself, it's not like I was jumping right on it. But once I was there and I saw it and I kind of, you know, got involved in that world, I was blown away. I was like, this is crazy. Basically you learned how to be a contender. You were the big fish in a little pond. And I'd like to kind of hear you break that down a little bit. What did that do for you? From being a kid who was on the outside looking in, you were team green and then you weren't. You wanted to have the ride And I mean, things turned around pretty quickly for you. You were the guy to beat that first year.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Like I said, it was so much that I was trying to take in all at once. Showing up and not knowing where I would fit in, not knowing really any of the competition. I feel like I have something to prove, and I went there with a chip on my shoulder. I definitely had a lot to prove to myself, to other people in the industry, and that shined through that year for me. I used that chip to just kind of manifest a lot of things happening.
Then the following year, I was able to get on the Babbitts team and be, in my opinion, the number one guy. I had gotten second to Tyler, he had moved on to Supercross, and I immediately became number one guy on Babbitts, back on Team Green in a very familiar stage that I was comfortable with, working with Denny Barts and just getting to be a part of the. The Team Green family again. And that first year, just the. The rivalry that was. That was brewing after the first night of racing between me and Tyler was something that I enjoyed. I never was nervous. I never was.
I don't even know what the word I want to use, but I just. It's. It never bothered me at all. It was just. It was something that I really looked forward to taking on. And I kind of, again, had said, this is what I want, and I got what I wanted and really kind of wished or kind of thought that into fruition, if that makes sense. You just. There was a lot of mistakes that I made on the track and off the track for sure. Did I say things that maybe weren't taken the best? Definitely. I was a young kid. I just wanted to ride my dirt bike and win. And would I do things differently now? I'll say this till I'm 80 years old, no, there's nothing. Because that's what molded me into becoming a Future champion in 2018. Without Arena Cross and that platform for me to learn that, you know, I just would. I've gone and raced Supercross, maybe. I don't know. It's hard to say. But Arena Cross is such a great platform for many athletes to begin their career. I hated because there was kind of like a stigma. This is where older athletes kind of grow, and it's just they're always there. And that wasn't the stigma. I never thought that was what Arena Cross was about. It was always for me to show what I had to offer. And there was a lot of money to be made in Arena Cross. I Made a great living in Arena Cross. I still believe there is a great living to be made in Arena Cross and I think it shouldn't be looked at as a down step. It should be an equal step. Because racing Arena Cross was physically and mentally and just demanding in all different aspects. You're, you were traveling a lot. I mean, we ran the full season from January to May when I was racing it, which was ran alongside Supercross. So it was a lot. And you had to learn how to peak at the right times and just learn your body and, and that was what was so intriguing about Arena Cross and, and how it all just played out well.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: And I think you bring up a good point as well because in this sport it's, it's beyond cutthroat and there's so many different storylines. There are, you know, riders like yourselves that maybe had a great amateur career but didn't quite get the opportunity when it was time to go pro. And then you do have some of those older riders where, hey, you know, maybe I'm not able to perform like I want to on, on a supercross motocross stage. And, and Arena Cross is almost like this perfect blend. I mean, it seems like in a way it, it does help kickstart some younger careers as far as getting them on a national level. And, and you bring up a lot of good points as well because we, we focus so much on track. But things like, you know, learning to, learning to travel, learning to maintain a good diet and fitness throughout that travel and, and that full season is important as well. But then for some of these older riders, you know, would you agree that it provides an opportunity to maybe you know, not hang the boots up quite yet, maybe go a little bit longer and you know, hey, you back, you're back in the spotlight. You are one of the guys as well when you come to something like Arena Cross.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: For sure, it's, if it's whoever's willing to go in there and mix it up. I mean, my long term friend and family friend, Kyle Peters, he's still doing it. He's, he's winning. You know, I think he's going after five.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: Going for six.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Going for six. Okay, so he's going for six and it gives him a great platform to go in there and continue to make a living and do something that he loves. We grew up racing amateur day. Arena Crosses the same and it's just, it's something that I can't really explain. It's not, doesn't feel like a job. It just, you feel like you get there and it's, you're surrounded by good hearted people and you just enjoy every minute that you're, you're there at an Arena Cross event. I've never been to one where I'm like, can the day be over? It's just from start to finish, you're excited, the atmosphere is exciting, just everything. It's created such a, a great lifestyle for me and people that I deal with still today on business, I was in Arena Cross dealing with them in 2014. So it's, you know, 10 years later to see all that kind of grow into full circle is wild.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: Now in your opinion, what, what makes a successful Arena Cross racer? Obviously, you know, every style of racing has its, you know, important aspects that really make one rider shine versus another. But like you said, comparing you know, just Arena Cross to Supercross a little less, which means maybe you got to force the issue a little bit more. Aggressiveness, intensity, fitness. What are some of the big characteristics that maybe you felt you had in your corner that helped, you know, bring you to success? And then if you were, if you're a writer watching this right now, what are some of the things that you think are really important to focus on if you want to be successful in a discipline like Arena Cross?
[00:13:37] Speaker B: So for me, I knew nothing about whoops when I got there. I mean I had done them a little bit, but to no level that Arena Cross was doing them. So I had to learn that the hard way. There is no denying that you have to put your time in with the, with the whoops. So I just tackled that right off the bat and then I never had to perfect my craft on aggressive racing. That just came natural, you know, just need to place the bike in certain areas and enjoy it. Right. Like you got to know you're going to get bumped, you're going to give some and you're going to get some.
[00:14:13] Speaker C: You talk about the bar bang. And right when you started, you know, your first season with Power Bowers, you were head to head and there was a lot of aggressive riding. You found yourselves on both ends of that stick. And then fast forward to the following season, you kind of already had that reputation as the guy who was going to dice it up.
And I feel like for a little while you just wanted people to be scared of you. I believe you may have said that, that when you're coming up on somebody, you wanted that person to be afraid that you were the one behind them.
Did you feel like some of the early racing with Bowers kind of teed you up for that reputation to set you through or like did you learn something from that first season or did you kind of have an aggressive riding style as you came into it? Because I didn't know too much about your racecraft prior to Arena Cross, but what I saw when we both got there was you were not afraid to run it in on somebody and you were cool with them running it in on you too.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I mean as an amateur I would say that I got, got pushed around and even like I said, when I went there, I had already watched all the races. I, I mean Tyler, people would just have to look back and it was almost like they had already given up the position as soon as they looked back. And I'm like, I'll be dam if I'm going to do that when I go race Arena Cross. Like if we're battling, he's going to realize like it's, it's coming up, the inside of it's there. So did he, did he like that? No, I don't think so. Hopefully he respects it or respected it. But did he like it? No, but I enjoyed it. I never, I don't think anyone could ever say that I didn't, I didn't take my fair share of shots and I didn't give my fair share of shots. So that first year. Yes. Was that something that maybe that I was wanting to establish myself as? For sure, I wanted to establish myself as I'm going after the big dog and it doesn't matter at what price I'm going after him. And I did. And that ran through the years prior. Did I get better at picking and choosing my times? For sure. Because in the first year it didn't matter if it was in the first half of a heat race, it was going down. If I had the shot, it was going down. It was the first lap of the main event. Same thing. Did I, like I said, did I learn better opportunities after a first couple of years? For sure. But did I enjoy that, that mental game that it played? Definitely. Because again, you see a guy look back, you know, now they're racing behind you and it's extremely hard to race behind you. You're not able to focus on yourself, hit your own lines and yeah, I, I thought he reaped the rewards of riding as the big bully. No, I wasn't as big as Tyler Bowers, but I think at certain times it played in my favor and against me as well.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: I love to hear it. Danny, you got anything else for Jacob Hayes?
[00:17:09] Speaker C: I think we're good.
[00:17:11] Speaker A: Well, I'm going to put you on the spot. We've got some big names headed into the series for this year. You got any favorites for taking the title this year?
[00:17:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll say the same that I did at Daytona. Kyle is a five time champion for a reason. He's a great starter, he's a great sprinter.
Kyle, I love you but you need to work on your whoops. But no, I think, I think he should be able to take it home. Is it going to be easy? No, definitely not. With Ryan Breece, you saw that battle. It came down to little things here and there, but at the end of the day I do believe in Kyle and I think he's got a good platform underneath him with David Eller and the Phoenix Honda guys and I think that 2025 Honda is a really, really good motorcycle and I just think he's a starting machine.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: Well, Jacob, thank you for the time and for the perspective as well. Like we said, we've been catching up with with riders that are getting geared up for this season but to be able to kind of have that kind of big scope type type mentality that, that's really great to hear and might even inspire some of the racers out there who we appreciate the time and glad to know that you'll be watching, maybe even make it out the one in person. Be a, be a fan in stands.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I'll be back at Daytona for sure.
[00:18:24] Speaker A: Well, we can't wait to see you. Thank you for the time and we'll see you around.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: Thanks boys.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: And if you guys want to tune in for all of the racing action live, make sure you subscribe to Arena Cross all access app, get it downloaded, get subscribed and get ready to enjoy a fantastic season of AMA kicker Arena Cross.
