Gavin Carter, a rising talent in the drag racing industry, has been named Virginia Motorsports Park drag strip manager where he will be working closely with VMP Vice President Tyler Crossnoe. In addition to his new role at Virginia Motorsports Park, Carter will also continue his position in race operations at the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series.

Carter, 27, expressed excitement about his new role and highlighted his longstanding working relationship with Crossnoe. 

“Tyler and I have worked together for more than 10 years now, so I’m excited to take on this new role working closely with him at VMP,” said Carter, 27. “We've always had the same vision. Whether it's working on the PDRA side, doing his OSCR event back in the day, or helping him out at Virginia like I have since he's been there, we always want every event to be the most successful and best event it can be. Every time we get done with an event, we sit down afterwards and look at what we need to do next time to take things up a notch. We’re always looking to improve the facility, improve the events, and improve ourselves to make things bigger and better than they were before.”

Carter's passion for the sport began at a young age (14) when he started working at Memphis International Raceway parking cars and later transitioned to the operations side of the business. He has since gained experience in various positions at tracks and organizations such as NMCA/NMRA, Total Venue Concepts, and Bradenton Motorsports Park. Carter has also worked closely with Crossnoe in an operations role for the PDRA series.

“I was working as track manager in Memphis alongside Paul Cartwright when Gavin was hired,” Crossnoe said. “Paul and I both recognized a potential future talent, even at his young age nearly immediately. We worked alongside each other through my tenure at Memphis, through the many years of the Outlaw Street Car Reunion, and plenty of events in between. We both possess a lot of the same tendencies, mindsets, and work ethic when it comes to the sport and the task at hand. I feel this will make his inclusion into VMP an extremely smooth transition and will place him in a position to find success nearly immediately.

Prior to working in the drag racing industry full-time, Carter was a school teacher and coach. This experience influences his management approach, as he prioritizes managing personalities and ensuring the success of his team members. Carter believes that setting people up for success is essential and recognizes the importance of fostering a supportive and empowering environment.
 

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In addition to his new role at Virginia Motorsports Park, Carter will continue working with Crossnoe in the race operations department for the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series. VMP hosts two of the series' eight points-earning national events, namely the Mid-Atlantic Showdown in April and the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals in October. The track will also host the fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars race during its Night of Fire in July.

Crossnoe expects Carter's role in the PDRA series to continue growing, as the series has experienced rapid growth and higher expectations in recent seasons. He believes that Carter's talents will contribute to the series' professionalism and event performance.

“Gavin's addition to the full-time roster here in Virginia will show light on the PDRA side of our company as well,” Crossnoe said. “The PDRA series has seen a rapid growth in the last few seasons, now housing the Red Line Oil title partnership branding for the 2024 season, and that growth comes with higher expectations and goals. I fully expect to see Gavin's role in PDRA continue to increase as the months and years pass, implementing many of his talents into the series that will continue to push our level of professionalism and event performance another step up the ladder. 
 
“To work alongside another young talented person in the drag racing industry and implementing Gavin into what the Franklin family and myself have been working towards these last five seasons is exciting for all involved and a blessing for me,” Crossnoe continued. “I've said it before, but it's a proud big brother moment to see everything that Gavin has done in this industry, and it's now my job and goal to help continue his rise and growth in our sport for many years to come.”
 
“Tyler is one of the hardest working people in drag racing,” Carter added. “I've known him forever now and I’ve seen the number of hours he puts in. With me coming in to essentially take some of that stress and relieve him a little bit, it's going to open up all kinds of other opportunities for some cool things that are going to be coming to VMP and PDRA in the next year and years to come. VMP fans and PDRA fans, keep an eye out because there's some pretty cool stuff that we've got cooking up here.”