GNCCRacing.com: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jake Froman: I’m 23 years old, from Lynnville, Indiana. I graduated college last year with an accounting and finance degree. Other than that, I’m just your average dirt bike racer. (laughs)

Congrats on making it through college while continuing to race at the pro level! That’s not an easy task…

As you know, it was a struggle. For most of my four years I had to be physically present at class Monday-Wednesday-Friday at a minimum, if not every weekday. It was bad. I would have to work super hard during the week to get everything done since I had to be gone on the weekends. I’d be writing papers on the way to the race. Then on the way back, I would try to sleep in the van, because there would be plenty of times where I would have to get home, then head straight to class. We made it work though.

Now that you’ve finished school, I’m guessing racing is a little bit easier on you than it was before.

Oh yeah! This is my first year that I’ve actually gotten to focus on racing. It makes things a lot easier now that I don’t have to stress about school and I have all the time I need to get whatever I need done for racing. It’s way better!

So, this is your full-time job then – you don’t have to work any side gigs?

Nope, this is it for right now.

You had your share of problems last season, but you also had some really promising rides – a win and a handful of podiums in XC3?

Last season early on was a struggle. Of course, I was still in school and winters in Indiana aren’t great. I hadn’t been able to ride much, and as expected I was a little underprepared. Then at Steele Creek I broke my wrist and was out for a good chunk of the season. But once I came back things went well. I was on the XC3 podium every race except for one where I had a DNF and I took home a win at the Mason-Dixon GNCC.

Hopefully this season will be an improvement on last year. I know we’re not too deep into it yet, but how have things been so far?

Not exactly according to plan. This was the first winter I was able to come down south and train, which was really exciting. I worked with Scott Plessinger and felt like I was the most prepared I’d ever been. I came into the first race and had a gnarly crash on the first lap. Had a good ride in Florida, finished second and was only fifteen seconds off the leader. Then at the General … well, I’ve been having some knee problems for a couple months. I went into a rut wrong, stuck my leg out and it twisted wrong. I had to be super cautious with it the rest of the race. I’ve been getting by with it and doing what I can to keep it strong and stable, but it’s something I’m really going to have to be mindful of this year.

 Besides being careful with that knee, what do you think you need to do to make things happen the rest of this season.

I would say my conditioning is good, but obviously that’s something you have to continually work on and maintain. Riding consistently, being smooth and smart I think is what would make the biggest difference for me this year. Once we get back to the northern races that suit me better, and once I’m back home where I can really work on the things I need to do. I know that when I’m riding to the best of my ability and don’t have problems, I have what it takes to win. Since I’ve already put myself in a bit of a hole, I’m going to need to start getting some of those pretty soon.

Tell us about your deal with Husky.

It’s a support deal negotiated directly with Husqvarna, so I’m doing my own thing, not affiliated with any of the Husky teams. I get support through them and then piece together everything else on my own.

How did you get started racing GNCCs in the first place?

My dad races off-road, and raced GNCCs pretty much his whole life. I rode moto when I was young, probably until I was about ten. I decided to give off-road a try, and I ended up winning the 65 class the next year in ’07. I’ve been hit-or-miss with full seasons of GNCC, but I never stopped racing off-road.

What is your favorite part about racing at the pro level?

The competition is always good (laughs)! There’s never a shortage of good riders to battle against. The racing is always so much fun because of that.