Texas Motor Speedway announced Tuesday that motorsports public relations specialist Gavin Faretra and television multimedia journalist Jake Young have been hired in managerial roles for the venue’s Media Relations Department.
Faretra arrives from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he spent five years as the communications manager for the Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) sister track in Loudon, N.H. Similar to his role at New Hampshire, he will serve as a Media Relations Manager for Texas Motor Speedway with an emphasis on print and digital media outlets.
Gavin Faretra
Media Relations Mgr.
“New Hampshire has been my home for most of my life and New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been my family for the last five years, but it’s an honor to join the incredible team here at Texas Motor Speedway,” said Faretra, who began his tenure at TMS on Jan. 5. “The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex provides a tremendous opportunity to grow as a PR professional and forge new relationships with some of the top media outlets in the country.” Prior to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Faretra spent seven years as a sports writer and editor at the Concord (N.H.) Monitor that included coverage of the speedway’s events. He was a past recipient for the New England AP News Executives Association First-Place Award in the Deadline News Story category and three-time national nominee for the Associated Press Sports Editors awards in breaking news, column writing and game story writing.
Young joins Texas Motor Speedway in a media relations capacity after a seven-year career in the television industry as both a sports anchor and reporter. He comes from Dallas-based KDAF-TV, CW33, where he has served as a multimedia journalist since 2016 on the station’s hour-long program, NewsFix.
Jake Young
Broadcast Media Relations Mgr.
“Throughout my career, I’ve focused on telling stories that matter to people,” Young said. “To have the opportunity to transition into the role of providing these story ideas and to do it at a place like Texas Motor Speedway is truly a blessing. The team here is respected throughout the region and the sport, and I’m proud to join them.”
Prior to CW33, Young was a sports reporter and weekend anchor at CBS affiliate WRDW-TV in Augusta, Ga., from 2010-13 and then CBS affiliate WJHL-TV in Johnson City, Tenn., from 2014-16. His coverage in Johnson City included motorsports events at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Young was a six-time Georgia Association of Broadcasters award winner and three-time winner for Best Sports Program with the Georgia Associated Press. He also was a three-time award winner with the Tennessee Associated Press, including Best Sportscaster in 2016.
He will serve in the role of Broadcast Media Relations Manager with his focus being on television and radio outlets as well as their accompanying digital platforms. Faretra already has begun his role at Texas Motor Speedway while Young starts Feb. 2. The duo joins Texas Motor Speedway Vice President of Media Relations Mike Zizzo and Media Relations Assistant Makenzie Kahan on the four-person staff.
“An important aspect to both Gavin and Jake is that they possess experience in the media that will become their focus in their new positions,” Zizzo said. “That experience should allow them to work more efficiently with those outlets and be cognizant of what type of storylines about Texas Motor Speedway and its events will appeal to them. Gavin already is immersed in the industry having been with one of our sister tracks the past five years while Jake will be taking on a new role but is quite familiar with our market and the media personalities.”
TMS PR
