Officials at NMCA and NMRA created a new role specifically for this young professional who describes himself as “the one-stop shop for racers before, during, and after races.” 

Racers in the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals and the NMRA Ford Nationals will be seeing a lot more of Gavin Carter this year. Since 2017, he had been the competition director for both series in a part-time role. This past December, however, NMCA/NMRA parent company ProMedia Events & Publishing created the full-time position of racing operations manager for Carter. The new role essentially merged his previous job with managing the series’ contingency program and parking. 

Carter, 24, has been working drag racing events for nine years. He didn’t grow up around the sport, but as a teenager he bought a rough and rusty 1968 Mustang and rebuilt it with his father. And, he had a much different career than racing in mind after high school. PRI recently asked Carter to share his vision for the races he’ll soon be managing, as well as a few other interesting tidbits. 

PRI: How did you get into the racing industry?

Carter: When I was 15, I got a part-time job at Memphis International Raceway, 15 minutes from my home. I parked cars and worked the concession stands. After a few months, the track manager asked if I wanted to work in race operations. He put me in the staging lanes and taught me how to tech cars, do timeslips, and to work the water box and Compulink timing system. When I worked my first race, it really lit a spark in me.

PRI: How did you get involved with NMCA/NMRA?

Carter: Four years ago, Rollie Miller [general manager and national event director for the NMCA and NMRA] called. He needed someone to work the back computer at events. They’d fly me in to work a four-day weekend event. My first race was at Indy. I loved it. I worked every race for two years and then became competition director for the events.

PRI: Why was this position created for you? What strengths do you bring to this new role?

Carter: I’m kind of the one-stop shop for racers before, during, and after races, from parking to getting their contingency worked out. I work remotely from home and travel to all the events. I’ll get there before the event starts to get parking sorted, manage load-in days, and answer questions for teams. I think the familiarity with one person will make things easier for everyone involved. 

PRI: Can you share your goals for the next 12 months?

Carter: My top goal is to streamline the whole process and make things easier for racers. I’m a newbie in some respects, but I bring new ideas. I have no preconceived notions about how things were always done in the past. The muscle cars tend to have an older crowd, so I want to bring in more drivers in my age range. That will be vital for growth.

PRI: What changes will racers and business partners notice—or what do you hope they’ll notice—as a result of your efforts?

Carter: One of the first things we did when I came on was to change the rules to allow double entry in points classes. We hadn’t had that before, and many racers had brought it up. If it brings in more racers and allows them more opportunities to run for the championship, then great. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll change it.

Overall, I want racers to say at the end of 2021 that this was one of the easiest seasons in terms of logistics—getting their rigs parked, the racing going smoothly, getting all their contingency stuff handled afterward. Then, I think they’ll be more likely to recommend NMRA/NMCA to their buddies as great events to run.

PRI: What do you see as the biggest challenges ahead of you?

Carter: Learning how contingency works and working with sponsors. But I’ve always been a quick learner, and I have a driving passion to succeed. COVID has been a challenge, but we managed to get in a full slate of races in 2020. It comes down to working with local governments and regulations, and I’m sure we can handle it.

PRI: Who inspires you, and why?

Carter: Rollie has been a great mentor. He’s always pushing me to continue to grow, giving insight and advice. Gene Bergstrom (Race Track Services owner) is also a solid mentor. They were guiding me in my first year as race director, kind of throwing me into the fire but helping set me up for success. 

PRI: What’s a valuable lesson you learned working through the last year?

Carter: I would say it was learning the value of staying open-minded, and when making decisions, in your career and life, don’t look back. There’s not much time for second-guessing in this industry. When you have a wreck on the track, a car leaking fluids on the starting line, or an issue in the staging lanes, you need to make quick and clear decisions to keep things moving.

PRI: What can you not live without, and why?

Carter: For work, it’s my laptop. I’m on it most days, planning races. Outside of work, it’s going to the gym, usually six days a week. It’s about staying healthy, and it’s also stress relief.

Gavin Carter

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Title:
Racing Operations Manager

Organization:
ProMedia Events & Publishing 

Hometown:
Norwalk, Ohio

Fast Fact:
“I grew up playing ball sports. Before going fully into the racing world, I was coaching middle school and high school athletics, and I got a coaching job right after high school. It helped me build leadership tactics and learn to make quick decisions. It was about setting up the team for success. That experience transferred to the racing world.”