By Russell Gagnon | Blade Staff Writer

Former Concordian Peyton Reynolds has a very unique career. In the male-dominated sport of NASCAR, she is the manager, media relations, for Trackhouse Racing – one of the premier race organizations on the NASCAR circuit.

Reynolds is responsible for managing the day-to-day schedule for Shane van Gisbergen, who drives the #88 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I am the liaison between my driver and everything else: NASCAR, the media, personnel… anything and everything,” Reynolds said.

Van Gisbergen is a rookie on the NASCAR Cup circuit, but he has already won three Cup Series races in 2025: the inaugural race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the Chicago Street Course, and Sonoma Raceway.

Van Gisbergen is also the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2008 to win three Cup Series races from the pole in a
single season.

For a young woman like Reynolds to rise so far in a short period of time is a testament to her media relations and management skills.

“It is a 24/7 job, no doubt about that. But I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Reynolds said. “This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime type of job.”

Reynolds was born and raised in Concordia, and graduated from Concordia High School in 2018. She then graduated from The University of Kansas (KU) in 2021 with a dual major in Journalism News and Broadcast, and Sports Management.

“I interned at KU in the athletic department for women’s and men’s basketball, men’s football and women’s soccer,” Reynolds said. “Back then I thought the dream job would be to work for the NBA or the NFL. In my last semester at college I interned for a sports marketing agency in Nashville and most of the marketing work was in motorsports. I travelled to some NASCAR events at Talladega, Alaban, and Watkins Glen, New York. I met a few people in the industry, grew those relationships over a couple of months and one of them reached out to me about a job.”

Reynolds took a sales job with NASCAR and moved to Daytona, Florida, in October, 2022.

“I lived there for four months. There was quite a learning curve, but NASCAR is so phenomenal. It’s addicting. I would have never guessed I would be working in the NASCAR industry. Motorsports wasn’t something I grew up following, but I can’t imagine it any other way now, I love it.”

Just how big is NASCAR? Though not as ratings-dominant as the NFL, the NASCAR Cup Series averages about two million viewers per race on national broadcasts, placing it on par with MLB and NBA games.

The flip side is that NASCAR has a fan base of over 70 million in the United States, making it one of the top sports in the country in terms of total fan base. It generates approximately $1 billion in annual television revenue.

Reynolds relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina – “the home of NASCAR” – and continued in sales for another year.

“I got to know a guy that oversaw a division of the NASCAR communications department. I was approached about an opening on the Track Communications Team and I took the job,” Reynolds said. “I spent the next nine months working five different tracks: Darlington (S.C.), Phoenix (Ariz.), Richmond (Va.), Kansas (Speedway), and the LA Clash (a race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum). I worked with a lot of communications people from different race teams, made connections and the right door opened for me to be offered a communications job at Trackhouse Racing. I started there in December of 2024 and have absolutely loved every minute of it.”

Trackhouse Racing is an American motorsports organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and MotoGP.

“I work with Shane full-time now,” Reynolds said. “We travel 38 weekends of the year. Every weekend is different – a different track, a different approach to things, a different crowd. You get to see just how big NASCAR is. It’s very unique.”

A typical week for Reynolds begins with preparation
for the upcoming race.

“Monday-through-Wednesday is preparing for the next race. The team usually works from home on Thursdays. This is when I get all my laundry done, run errands, and pack back up for the upcoming weekend. But I’m on call 24/7. On Fridays we fly a chartered plane to that weekend’s race. Friday and Saturday are very hectic, especially with practice, qualifying and driver appearances, and then there’s the race on Sunday. We usually get home around midnight on Sunday. It’s just non-stop for those six days every week. The constant traveling can get to you, but honestly, I travel more by airplane now than I do by car.”

Reynolds said the most difficult part of her job is the scheduling.

“I am the person everyone comes to first – NASCAR, media, everyone. I schedule every single thing for Shane, every minute of every hour of every day. People would be amazed at the demands of a driver’s time besides just preparing for the race, which of course takes a lot of time. Most days are broken up in fifteen minute increments. He has to be here for one thing and then over here for another. It’s my job to make all the arrangements with each event and then get him there on time. There are an incredible amount of details that need to be handled. You have to be prepared for anything.”

Reynolds said that, in terms of excitement and the rush of adrenaline, there’s not much that can compare to race day at a NASCAR track. During the race, a split-second decision can change everything.

Reynolds thrives in the nonstop pace and constant pressure.

“I’m an A-type person, so it’s good,” she said. “You really get to know your driver and crew members. I plan out everything for Shane, even when and where he eats and what he eats; what he wears at any given news conference. Sometimes you have to fly by the seat of your pants, especially at the tracks. NASCAR might say we’re moving up the practice time by 15 minutes. Well, those 15 minutes can change the entire
day for a driver.”

Winning a race on the NASCAR Cup circuit would be a dream come true for most any motorsports driver.

For Van Gisbergen to win three in his rookie season is astonishing. But Reynolds said that the team – especially the driver – doesn’t get to relish the victory for very long.

“Honestly, you have to have a short memory, even if you win, because you have all this intense preparation for the next race. If you had a bad race or wrecked out on Sunday, come Monday you need to forget it and move on to the next race on the schedule,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds loves her job and loves the excitement of NASCAR, but her journey in life is not yet complete.

“I don’t know where I’ll be in five years. I never imagined that this would be my life at this point, and NASCAR has so much to offer. I would love to lead a communications department for any professional sports organization. But I also love college athletics. I could definitely see myself in sports communications for a D1 (Division 1) school someday.”

She continued, “I’m in a really good place right now. Doors have opened for me at the right time, and I hope they keep opening into the future.”