The Race Team Alliance (RTA), an organization dedicated to promoting and growing motorsports and advancing the long-term interests of NASCAR Cup Series teams, is announcing a series of executive appointments to formalize its corporate structure as it prepares for new ventures and growth opportunities.
Colin Smith — who has more than 15 years of organizational leadership across sports and entertainment verticals — has been named President of RTA Media Holdings (RTA Media), which serves as the media arm of the RTA. Smith has a successful track record of building media businesses and developing consumer digital platforms, having held senior leadership positions with Raycom Sports, NASCAR and Motorsport Network.
RTA Media was established by the RTA members in 2019 with the acquisition of Speed51, a leading grassroots racing site delivering a combination of editorial coverage along with live streaming of races. RTA Media — through Speed51 and future platforms — is committed to delivering its unique racing content to race fans everywhere through its continued editorial coverage, live grassroots racing broadcasts and introducing more motorsports-related content.
“Colin‘s experience in leading multi-platform media companies will be essential as the RTA continues to look to expand media opportunities for our members following the Speed51 acquisition,” said Jonathan Marshall, executive director of the RTA. “We are confident that Colin‘s history of leading early-stage growth businesses will be invaluable as we continue to build upon Speed51‘s strong foundation with the grassroots racing community, and evaluate opportunities to expand the reach of our member teams to racing fans everywhere.”
RTA Media also announced that Emily McCarty is overseeing operations of Speed51 as General Manager. McCarty has more than 20 years of experience creating and delivering sports and motorsports content, including stints with NASCAR, ESPN and Marty Snider & Associates, a leading motorsports video production company.
The RTA, which recently extended Marshall‘s contract for an additional three years, also promoted Nathan Grimm from vice president to Chief Revenue Officer. Both Marshall and Grimm will continue in their roles across all RTA opportunities.
“The RTA is entering a period of strategic investment,” said Rob Kauffman, chairman of the RTA. “Our goal is to promote and grow the sport of stock car racing and advance the long-term interests of our member NASCAR Cup Series teams. With the launch of RTA Media and planned expansion of Speed51 we will continue to focus on preserving and amplifying grassroots racing across North America, while also creating new and entertaining content to connect with motorsports fans directly.”
— Race Team Alliance —
