Driven to succeed
Most students are still asleep听as Carey Kronhart wakes up听at 4:30 a.m. to catch a flight from Denver to yet another motorsports event. When he arrives, he鈥檒l go straight to the racetrack and begin the work of听a production assistant and runner for Fox Sports, where he supports live racing broadcasts.
Kronhart, a senior majoring in media production with a minor in sports media, said the nonstop pace of covering NASCAR and IndyCar is exactly what听he wants.听

Carey Kronhart on the track at the Grand Prix of Arlington, in Texas, as part of his work with Fox Sports. 鈥業鈥檓 in a different place every week,鈥� he says. 鈥業t鈥檚 awesome.鈥� Photo courtesy Carey Kronhart.
鈥淏eing a student is slightly limiting, but I鈥檓 in a different place every week. It鈥檚 awesome,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n St. Petersburg (Florida), I don鈥檛 think there was a single day when I worked less than 15 hours, but it鈥檚 rewarding work.鈥�
His path to racing has been nontraditional, even as it was auto-adjacent: Before transferring to 麻豆免费版下载Boulder, he worked as a car salesman, where he developed communication skills that prepared him to make the connections needed to break into the fast-paced sports media industry.
CMDI encouraged those connections through his classes, including those for the sports media minor, and events like the Sports Media Summit. There, he bonded with Michael Davies (Jour鈥�94),听a Fox Sports executive vice president,听
over a love of motorsports.听
鈥淲hat made Carey stand out to me was that he knew exactly what he was interested in,鈥� Davies said. 鈥淚t made it very easy for me to find an opportunity for him in the operations side of TV听and motorsports.鈥�
Davies was impressed not only by Kronhart鈥檚 work ethic but also by the professionalism and curiosity he听brought to work every day.
鈥淗e鈥檚 extremely polite and outgoing,鈥� Davies said. 鈥淗e listens and always听has his radar up for different pieces听of knowledge that he can use on听his journey.鈥澨�
As a production assistant and runner, Kronhart spent his first races learning the ins and outs of live television production. He describes himself as a jack-of-all-trades, helping out on set wherever he鈥檚 needed. His responsibilities range from moving equipment to distributing schedules and tearing down gear once the broadcast wraps.
The work came with a lot of pressure, but after impressing his supervisor during his first race, he was invited back for additional events.
As Kronhart鈥檚 professional opportunities and responsibilities grew, he faced the challenge of balancing them with a full course load back in Boulder. Cory Lopez, a lecturer who had Kronhart in a sports broadcasting class last spring, said he saw Kronhart use his experiences from the job to be a better student.听
鈥淐arey is just one of those guys who is going to do this for a very long time. He鈥檚 already in the middle of the grind and just loves it,鈥� said Lopez, who also works in sports broadcasting and public relations. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got real talent.鈥澨�
Iris Serrano graduated from CMDI in 2026 with degrees in strategic communication and journalism. She covers student news and events for the college.