by: Rachel Gutish
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 | 4:45 PM
One point. One measly point is all Cash Jacobs missed the 200 B title by last year. But he is back with a vengeance this year, as he is currently leading the points race in 200 A. Like most amateur racers, he works full time and struggles to get to the races each weekend. The fact that he is from Sarasota, Florida makes the traveling that much tougher. The furthest race for him this season, Unadilla, is over 21 hours away – no stops included. Even the closest races, like the Cannonball and Big Buck GNCC’s are still 7-9 hours away, and the financial toll this takes is serious. However, this 20-year-old is dedicated to racing and plans to continue competing as long as it is feasible for him to do so. As he puts it, “I don’t have much going on in my life besides this. It’s just work and ride and work and ride – but it’s what I live to do.”
GNCCRacing.com: Thanks for being willing to talk to me right after work. What exactly do you do for a living?
Cash Jacobs: I work for my father’s concrete business [Jacobs Concrete]. We like to stick to residential work like driveways and sidewalks, but also do slab, block and beam. Basically anything concrete or block.
I know we have some mutual friends – the TF suspension guys are pretty great, aren’t they?!
Yeah, I don’t think I’d be racing the GNCCs if it wasn’t for them. They are the ones who got me interested in the first place, and they do so much for me. Whether it’s giving me their lightly used tires or helping me work on my bike, TF is always trying to help. I even got my first KTM from Tom and Jesse [Tom is the head of TF Suspension, and his grandson Jesse races 250 A in the GNCC series]. Luckily they live close so I get to ride and cycle with Jesse from time to time. They’re just super awesome people!
Tell me a little bit about what you did prior to the GNCCs. You’ve been racing locally for 14 years, but have only competed in the GNCCs for two years, right?
That’s right. I’ve been doing the FTR (Florida Trail Riders) series for 14 years now. It was something my dad’s friends wanted him to do and I was along for the ride. Along the way I didn't win many championships, I actually only have one from 2014. It was in Evo-A on a 1987 KDX 200. After having an off year, with going through four bikes and three different brands I decided to try something different – the GNCC series.
Do you still compete in the FTR races?
Yeah, I race every one that I can get to, that isn’t the same date as a GNCC. I ride A 200 in that series as well, it’s a lot of fun! FTR is where most of my support comes for GNCC racing.
You started out last year in 200 B, and came one point shy of the title. What was that first season like for you?
It was rough. I had a lot of fun but at the same time, I drove to almost all the races by myself. The driving last year was a struggle – in a matter of three days a 32 hours round trip plus racing is really tough. There were a lot of races I couldn’t afford to get to. When the championship comes down to a single point, having even one of those races to use as drops might have made a big difference. Overall though, I had a really good time and I’m glad I ran the series. Well, except for Snowshoe, I don’t really have a very good time there.
So the way you feel about Snowshoe is similar to how I feel about sand.
(laughs) Probably, because of Howard’s Hole, that’s like my nightmare! It’s all still a learning experience for me because until my first few GNCCs, I’d never ridden outside of Florida. I wish we had more races in the south.
Now that has to be really challenging, since we only encounter sand once a year at the Florida, and that’s the only place you really get an advantage. Everything else in this series is pretty much not sand….
Yeah for sure, that’s why I did so good at the Wild Boar. I don’t get a whole lot of practice in because of work and trying to keep my bike alive for the races but I do try to ride once between races, but there's no rocks to train on near me. I try pretending the palmettos are rocks, it's working so far! But going out of state to practice something that isn’t sand is really out of the question. I mostly just ride bicycles to stay in really good shape, and just hope that some natural talent starts to kick in once the race starts.
So the take-home message here is that Florida riders have it tough. But on the positive side and backing up a little bit, the way you said that the driving was really hard last year makes me think you’re getting some help with that this year?
Yeah, my parents are traveling with me now. They drive and help with everything on the trips which helps me out a ton. When we get to the race we just push the bike into a hotel room and make the best of it.
How do you feel about moving up to the 200 A class this year?
I actually got promoted – mandatory advancement rules. But I wasn’t going to stay in 200 B very long anyway. I know I have the speed to be competitive, and even last season my times would have put me on the podium in 200 A, so I definitely needed to move up.
Are you hoping to ever move up past 200 A? Like to the 250 A class or maybe even XC2? Or at this point are you trying to have fun with it and worry about where it goes later?
Well, if I’m not winning I don’t have much fun, so I’m always trying to push harder and get better. I’m just going to keep trying to win until I can’t anymore. As for advancing, I don’t know, it’s honestly up in the air. I would love a 250 for next season but it's not in my budget. If I can save the money I would love to run 250 A next year. But as far as XC2...that's a really far reach, those guys are amazing! If I ever made it to that level I would be thrilled, but I just don’t know. I have to focus on the other parts of my life too. Working and building solid finances and a good future are the priority. If that interferes with racing, it’s going to have to interfere with racing, there’s no way around it.
Well, I’m impressed you’ve got your priorities straight, that’s for sure! I saw you’re currently leading your class. Has it been a good season so far?
It’s been a little stressful, but still worth it. I’ve had a second-place finish and a couple of wins (one in Florida, of course) and I’m still first in points. I had some bike problems at Camp Coker – lost my brakes and ended up 7th. These guys I race with are fast enough anyway, it’s hard to compete with a disadvantage like that! And then after that race I’ve had a combination of bad luck and self-induced problems, like not bleeding my brakes right, mistakes during the race, stuff like that. Totally my fault, but still frustrating. I’m trying to keep it fun this season and focus on being happy. It’s kind of working as far as my results are concerned. In the end I just want that #1 trophy, that will definitely make me happy!
Well Cash, I wish you the best of luck with the remainder of your season. Is there anybody out there you’d like to thank?
Thanks! First off, I’d like to give a shout out to Matt and his family #52, a friend from FTR we lost recently. We all miss him very much.
I would to thank TF Racing, Central Florida Power Sports, Seat Concepts, Dinkel Racing, Hill Racing, all the individuals who help me out, my parents and my FTR family.