Storytelling is becoming a lost artform
Ronda Rich
Out of the blue one day, I got an email from an old, beloved friend from my NASCAR days. In the days when first I met him, Jim Freeman was the public relations director at the Talladega track. That was when the publicity at all the tracks was run by men, some college educated, some not, who were amicable, back-slapping and well-liked.
They worked hard to beg attention for a sport that few media outlets cared about, so when the reporters did show up, they made them feel at home, almost smothering them with Southern hospitality. They inched their way, little by little, to big papers like USA Today, the Washington Post and the New York Times sending out reporters. USA Today was the first to step up and commit, sending Jerry Potter, a good friend of mine, to cover the beat on a regular basis. The others mostly visited only for the Daytona 500.
Men like Freeman, though, were the masterminds of showing stock car racing to the rest of the nation. I remember once when I was in Jackson, Miss., covering a Georgia-Ole Miss football game when I was surprised to find Freeman in the press box, assisting the Ole Miss sports information folks.
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