ESPN’s auto racing graphics manager inherited his love for the sport

Trevor Gavin grew up as a racing fan, the love of motorsports instilled in him at a very young age. Now, as graphics manager for ESPN’s telecasts of NASCAR and IndyCar races, Gavin is not only working in a sport he loves, he also gets to pay his family back for introducing him to it.

“My grandfather [Frank Gavin, Jr.] raced back in the 50’s,” said Gavin, who joined ESPN in 2008 after graduating from Marist College, where he played football for four years. “When I was young, he used to take me to the track all the time, and he really got me into it.”

Later, while he was in college, he talked his father Frank Gavin III into letting him buy a race car. Gavin finished second in his first race, an Enduro event at Albany-Saratoga (N.Y.) Speedway. He stopped racing, but he never forgot the family support and introduction to the sport.

“I just love what I do and a lot of the fun comes from being able to bring my grandfather, my dad and my brother [Derek Gavin] to these races so they can see me work and also to allow them to experience it,” he said. “Now I get to return the favor on the biggest stage of all in NASCAR and IndyCar.”

Gavin will be working on ESPN’s production of the telecast of the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis for the Verizon IndyCar Series on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which airs Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

Gavin oversees anything that involves graphics on ESPN’s live racing telecasts. That includes working with the telecast’s producer and director to give them what they want and need, as well as ensuring that scoring data gets on the air correctly and that the most up-to-date driver headshots and stats are ready.

Gavin worked on NASCAR his first year with ESPN in 2008, then moved to Monday Night Football for four seasons. Among other projects he has worked on are the NFL and WNBA Drafts, Gruden’s QB Camp and the Scripps National Spelling Bee. He returned to motorsports in 2013.

“Being able to work on motorsports is amazing,” he said. “Growing up a racing fan and watching it on TV all the time – I remember leaving church and rushing home and putting the TV on – and now, being at these tracks and part of the telecasts, is pretty much a dream come true.”