How Picking Jeff Gordon Led to Running Josef Newgarden’s Business with Amy Cavitch

Amy’s Start

What was the first moment you discovered racing?

We grew up watching racing in my family. Every Sunday, that's what we did. I don't remember what year it was, but I remember the Coca-Cola 600 and my dad said, All right, you have to pick a favorite to cheer for, that's how you'll get into it. So, I picked Jeff Gordon because he had the rainbow car. We just grew up watching it.

My dad actually raced at our local racetrack, before I was even born. Once they started having kids, my mom was like, Nope, we're done with that. So, we still went on the weekends. I was always around it.

Then I was in college, majoring in marketing and had to do what they call work-based learning, but it's basically an internship. I remember I was at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) with my dad and I was thinking this would be a cool job. You get to travel, you get to meet new people, you get to be around racing and all these things. So I went home and sent out a bunch of letters and got picked up, and here we are 20 years later, sitting in the media center at the Indianapolis 500. 

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When did you decide the racing industry is where you wanted to build your career?

It's funny, because I honestly didn't really know. I come from a very small town in Northern Michigan. I didn't know anybody who worked even close to this world, but I just remember being there and seeing all the people and all the different types of jobs that were at the track and thinking that as a marketing major, there has to be something for me here. So, I really didn't know, to be honest with you, other than I knew that I wanted to get out and travel and explore and do all of that.

I will say when I was back at home, I did try to help some of the local racers with sponsorships, and I put together proposals and things like that, but I really had no idea what I was doing at the time.

Greg: When you finally found out about all of these different jobs, were there certain ones that you gravitated towards, or did you take whatever came your way? 

When I started, it was just kind of whatever just to figure out what I did like. I was with a team that was in the Busch Series back then. I was exposed to a lot. I got the team side, I got to see the sponsorship management side, I got to see PR—I got to see a lot of different things. Then when I finished school, I went back to North Carolina, started working at an agency and sort of fell into hospitality, sponsorships, VIP management, hosting, which was definitely my passion. 

We did a lot of sponsorship management and hosting. Then as an agency, we grew and evolved and started doing more of the B2C side of things. I really was not exposed to the team side much, because we were always on the sponsor side back then. So, really, once I started working with Kyle Busch on the team side, that's where I really started to get exposed and actually found that I loved that.

Greg: What is the difference between your day-to-day when you're on the team side versus the agency? 

I think agency life is agency life, right? It's hard. You always have to keep your clients happy and it's just, it's a hard life. But on the team side, what I liked was that it's a little bit more compact, a little bit closer together, and you truly are a team. And it's a bit more competitive, right? You have a stake in the game for what happens on Sunday. Whereas on the agency side, usually you're managing multiple clients. I like that part of it. It's the competitive side of it, which you don't necessarily get as much on the agency side. 

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Amy’s Current Role

How would you describe your current role? 

I work for Josef Newgarden, and I don't think I really have a title. We're a small team. I tell everybody, I basically handle everything except the race car for Josef. I'm not allowed to touch the race car.

It’s all of his branding, social, digital, his website, his merch, the foundation, anything that has to do with him. Really, at the end of the day, my job is to take as much stress off of Josef as possible, so he can just focus on winning races, because that keeps us all employed. 

Greg: Have you always gravitated towards a firefighter-type role? 

In between the agency and working for Josef, I worked for Kyle Busch. I was the family’s executive assistant, by title, but really just balancing everything from their travel to their personal family things, to their foundation—everything that had to do with them. So, it was a lot.

Coming from an agency and events background also teaches you that, because you have to think on your feet and you have to come up with solutions and not let your client know that something's wrong. I would joke with people that I felt like Kyle and Samantha were my clients. That's how I thought about it, as I had to solve their problems. The same thing with Josef.

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What's been really different about NASCAR versus IndyCar? 

I would take IndyCar all day, every day. The schedule is so much lighter, which is nice to have weeks off. Plus, it's just so much shorter. It's like six months on and six months off, which is amazing. Overall, I would just say it's much more chill, from top to bottom. It just feels like there's not as much pressure, and I feel like people enjoy it a little bit more. I think on the NASCAR side, you just run so ragged and you're just going through the motions, whereas here, you sort of get to enjoy things a little bit more.

I think there's more accessibility here for fans, which is fun. That's another thing too, I really noticed, is that the fans here are so much more respectful than NASCAR fans are. We were at St. Pete and the driver-owner lot is literally just in the middle, and it's open, there's no fencing around it. That would never happen in NASCAR. It's all gated and there's security, you have to have a special pass to go in there. So, I think people are a little bit more respectful over here.

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What are the most rewarding and the most challenging parts of your role?

Rewarding

I remember being a fan and how cool it was to have those experiences. I still relish those moments, and anytime that I can give someone an experience, it’s amazing. We have our merch trailer, and the little kids that meet Josef and the way their faces light up. Sometimes you forget that when you're at this level.

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Challenging

The most difficult part is probably finding balance between your work and personal life. It's really easy in this industry to let the two become one. Racing, marketing, and social media never sleep. Add in that you're traveling so much and you're with these people at work where you experience these highs and lows and form a special bond together. But then you have this other life back home, and you have to maintain both.

I've learned over the years how important it is to take care of yourself and not feel like you have to be on 24/7. You can't pour from an empty cup.

Greg:  When it’s at your level and in your position, does it feel like you are part of the driver's family? 

Oh, absolutely. I would absolutely say that, and I would say, especially with Josef too, he's just such a genuinely good person and wants what's best for me, too. I feel like there's still very much a certain level of respect, and I don't want to let him down and very much treat it like a job. I have his back no matter what, and I feel that back from him, and Ashley, too. And you do become close with their parents and their friends and things like that, which is really nice, especially in a world like this, where you're on the go so much and you're investing so much of your personal time into your work.

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What are the top 3 qualities that have helped you succeed in your role? 

Quick-thinking

Thinking on my feet and being able to come up with solutions to problems.

Hardworking

I was raised to work hard in general. Give 110%, and be proud of everything that you do.

‍Easygoing

No matter what position you hold in racing, you just have to be one of those sort of go-with-the-flow people, because it rains every day or something happens. There's just so much that happens that's out of your control. And I wasn't like that to start with. It's definitely something I've developed over the years, but being able to just roll with it and know that no matter what happens, you'll figure it out.

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Amy’s Advice

If you could go back and give advice to your younger self, what would that be?

What I tell people is just not to be so hard on yourself and that you can be the best at what you do. Something's going to go wrong. Most of the time, it's how you react to it and how you handle a situation, as opposed to why it went wrong in the first place, because chances are it's not your fault. It's just a matter of how you manage it. So, I think that's true for probably any position, but really in this world.

What advice would you give to someone looking to be in your position? 

Just get yourself exposed to as much as you can. For me growing up where I did, I had no idea this was even a career option. It was just not on my radar. I think exposing yourself to as many things and, like we talked about, finding what you're passionate about, because it could be something different that you didn't even know existed. I joke too that when I started out, social media wasn't even a thing, and now there's roles for it. I think just getting out there and meeting people, putting yourself into as many different situations as you can. Also meeting people in general, you never know what door that's going to open. I mean, that's how I got my job with Josef.

From my dad's side, be proud of the work that you do and eventually, that will pay off.  And people notice that, even if it's not right away.

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Amy's Career Highlights

What's been the most memorable moment of your career so far? 

Josef winning the 2024 Indy 500. It was my first one that I'd ever been to, and I remember going into it, and everybody had hyped up the Indy 500. I've done a lot of other really cool sporting events, so I was like, how cool can it be? And I got here, and I was just like, okay, now I get it. Then I don't think anybody expected him to win again. So, then when he won and I got to be there and to feel included in everything and just be able to experience that with him and the family, that was really cool.

Greg: What was going through your mind on those last two laps? 

I remember thinking it wasn't going to happen. Honestly, I was just like, there's no way, right? Pato was going to win and then it was just crazy. And then to see Ashley [Newgarden] freaking out and I think she thought the same thing. Nobody wanted to act excited because it can turn in a second. So, for him to actually cross the line and actually do it, I don't think I really believed it happened until it did. It was crazy. And the sense of relief too. Like you see the guys, whether it's Josef or whoever wins, get out and just like that [exhales in relief]. It's like a true relief. Everybody feels that. 

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With Josef, you’ve been a part of race wins, Indy 500 history, books, a foundation, TV commercials. What would you love to try that you haven’t planned yet? What’s that wishlist thing?

It's funny, someone said that he should go on Dancing with the Stars, and I had never thought about that, but he should.

I pushed hard for Josef to start the foundation, and I honestly don't think it's gotten the attention that it needs yet. We've just been so busy. But I would like the next chapter to really grow that and see what we can turn that into. Nonprofit work has always had a special place in my heart, and the causes that he supports are very much aligned with the causes I support. So, it's easy for me to be passionate about it. From a professional standpoint, that's definitely a focus of mine going forward.

Then I think back to Josef too. I don't necessarily have a specific outlet, but I do think that once you get to know Josef, he is one of the most genuine people and he's funny and he's smart, and I wish that people could see more of his personality, which sometimes is hard because I know he and Ashley are very private people, and it's a balance. One of my goals has always been to help people see a little bit more of his personality.

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