By: Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
Writers Note: In addition to writing for Kickin’ the Tires, I’m also a full-time college student enrolled in Southern New Hampshire University’s online program. I’m currently studying for my Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and some Marketing as well. One of the classes I was recently enrolled in during this last eight-week term, we had to interview someone in the field we are working towards for our future career. I chose to speak with Marissa Fuller, the Senior Coordinator for NASCAR Communications. What you are about to read is the paper I submitted to my professor. If you’re wondering, he loved it and I got an A on it. I’m very proud of how this came out and I walked away with a lot of knowledge from Marissa. Once again, I thank her for her time with this, and the OK from Jerry Jordan to post it here on Kickin’ the Tires. I hope you all enjoy reading it.
About Marissa
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) is an American auto racing sanctioning body founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr. Most people think of NASCAR and think fast cars on a race track. While that rings true, there is a lot that goes into NASCAR to get ready for each race weekend and a team of people who make it all happen from all different angles. Marissa Fuller, Senior Coordinator, Racing Communications for NASCAR Communications is one of those people. Fuller was hired at NASCAR in April 2018 as a Content Communications Coordinator for NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications. In January of 2019, she was transferred to the NASCAR Digital Media team due to her journalism background. “I spent a season on that team and learned the ins and outs of running NASCAR.com, writing articles, interviewing drivers, but at the end of the season, I requested a return to my original position on the newly named NASCAR Communications team,” said Fuller. “I felt it was a better fit for me and my career and so did everyone involved, so in December of 2019, I made the switch back to the communications team.
(Photo Courtesy of: Marissa Fuller)
Job Duties
Fuller’s duties in NASCAR include: Making sure that the NASCAR media have the appropriate and necessary tools to properly cover our sport on a weekly basis, pitching and scheduling various story ideas to media outlets in their respective area, and updating all content on NASCARMedia.com (i.e. audio, video, transcripts, press releases, etc.). Additional duties include: Being the liaison between a media member and driver, crew member, team owner, connecting with teams and drivers to make sure that all of their needs/wants are met and communicating competition updates with the media (Rule Book updates).
College and Following its Completion
She always knew she wanted to work in sports, but she wasn’t sure in what capacity. While attending Temple University, Fuller was the sports editor for the yearbook, a position that allowed her to cover a variety of sports on campus. “I loved covering football and attended many games in the press box. I loved it and I went on to write for Philadelphia Sports Digest with a focus on local college football and basketball teams. I took a ton of sports journalism classes during college, too. Fuller went on to graduate in May of 2015 and was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles. However, it was a temporary position and once the time was up, she knew she needed to find something else, but she said, “I absolutely loved working for them.” She then went on to be a radio jockey and did traffic over the air for a year while applying for jobs with various sports organizations. “Radio was cool, but I did not love the sound of my own voice and I did not love traffic like I loved sports,” expressed Fuller. “I loved football, basketball and baseball, but I had always enjoyed NASCAR because of my dad. So, I started applying, doing research and learning as much as I could about racing and went from there.”
Job Routine
Every person employed has a routine specific to them at their place of employment as well as job activities, and NASCAR is no different. Fuller has weekly assignments during the season that she takes care of on certain days of the week. During normal operations, on Monday morning, she gets everything updated with the assets and content from the race weekend that was just completed. Some of you may ask where all of this takes place? Fuller further explained that saying, “All of this takes place on NASCARMedia.com. Within the site, it’s important that we leave things up that are still relevant from the previous weekend, but we also want to dive right into the content for the upcoming weekend too,” said Fuller. “Things like our main tune-in centerpiece need to be updated, making sure that all of the race recaps are up on the site and edited properly. On Wednesdays, we send out the News & Notes. Each of us writing takes on different series but I primarily write about the Gander Trucks. Those notes are time-sensitive and we also need the entry list to make sure we are highlighting anyone important and relevant that week.”
Additionally, activities for her role within NASCAR also include: Pitching story ideas to media markets, editing various stories for the NASCAR Wire Service, collaborating with the track that will be hosting the race that weekend, and setting up interviews and calls with drivers and/or teams for the upcoming race weekend. “I look at my weekly routine as having some things that are routine but most of the time, we’re taking on different situations and different storylines based on the prior race weekend,” stated Fuller. “Things can change in an instant and I’ve had to learn that sometimes there are bigger and more important things to do than working on the centerpiece for NASCARMedia.com. Because of how many races we have and how often we are all traveling, making lists in order of importance has helped me greatly.”
(Photo Courtesy of: Marissa Fuller)
Things are constantly changing and evolving, especially in sports and sports professions. Fuller originally was all about writing and wanted to be a reporter in the middle of all the action. From getting the best stories, interviews and providing content people wanted to read. However, that changed once she got more involved in the public relations and communications aspect of racing. “I realized that I could use my journalistic knowledge to my benefit and become an even stronger communications representative and I never thought I wouldn’t be writing; I love it so much and always thought it was my strongest skill,” expressed Fuller. “I came to realize that my strongest skill was actually working with people, being hands-on in a fast-paced sports world, providing necessary content for media to use and help get the sport of NASCAR in the big lights. Now, I can’t see myself doing anything else and all it took was one step in a steppingstone position to realize that. Since I’ve only been at NASCAR almost two years, I really hope that within the next 10 years, I’m in more of a leadership role within the communications department or another department that allows me to use all of the skills I’ve gained. I love working with people and our media and the sport itself and I am continually learning how to be a better teammate and leader by watching the other people I’m surrounded by, asking questions and wanting to learn.”
Advice For Someone Wanting to work in NASCAR
As someone who is studying Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and Marketing, being able to ask Marissa what advice she would give someone looking to work in the field has been nothing short of beneficial to my mindset. “I could go on for hours and hours about this, but I still have a lot to learn myself in this amazing – yet very challenging – field of work,” said Fuller. “The three biggest things I would have wanted someone to tell me is never believe anyone who tells you they don’t see you in a specific job. If that’s where you see yourself – if that’s the sport you see yourself working in or if that’s the position you see yourself shining in, stick with it and prove the doubters wrong. No one knows you better than you know yourself.”
“Secondly, not every job is perfect, and they tend to be less perfect in the beginning of your career. I worked for a newspaper as an assistant, hoping I’d eventually be asked to write a story but instead, I showed up every day and sorted mail. I couldn’t stand it. It might be that you can’t stand your job or the people around you but keep your head down, do the work and power though because there are big things on the other side of it,” said Fuller.
“Thirdly, don’t be afraid to fail. I was so afraid of asking questions when I got my first job post-grad because I was so afraid of looking silly. Now, I ask hundreds of questions and I pitch all kinds of ideas, whether others like them or not. Nothing is more empowering than facing your fears and failures and trust me there will be some.”
Team Skills
Chances are if you work in the sports industry in any capacity, you’ll find yourself as part of a team. You may have certain independent responsibilities, but most things come together at the end due to many individuals doing their own part for success to occur. Fuller spoke about how crucial team skills are in her current position, saying, “Team skills are crucial. Although I have my own roles and responsibilities, I’ve had to continue growing my team skills because as a team, that’s when you’re the strongest. When it comes to big organizations like NASCAR, we have to rely on each other in such a demanding and high-stress sport,” said Fuller.
“Being able to pick up something for someone else who has a lot on their plate goes a really long way. I’ve made it a point to write down what everyone is working on in the weekly “all hands” team meeting we have. There are some people on my team that I’ll work with much less than others but if I know what they’re working on and I can jump in and help, it makes a world of a difference. There are so many moving pieces among various teams in sports and having team skills is so important.”
Adapting to Changes
Furthermore, she also touched on the subject of the importance of adapting to the new strategies and trends present in the sports industry. With so many unknowns now due to COVID-19, sports organizations throughout the world are either postponing events or canceling them altogether. With that said, it was very beneficial to hear the tools NASCAR is utilizing that they haven’t used before and expanding on ones they never knew they could prior to this pandemic.
“It’s is so important to be able to adapt and change with the new strategies and trends in the sports world. They are constantly changing and will continue to do so,” stated Fuller. “The technology we have access to is just sitting there waiting to be explored. The trends and the way you can target an audience from the inside is changing on a monthly basis. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic that we are all dealing with right now has caused us to adopt new strategies and completely change the narrative of our sport for the time being. We have had to learn to utilize tools that we hadn’t before and expand on ones that we never knew we could. Something as simple as changing the narrative on social media to something as complex as changing the way we pitch to media outlets has been key. It is so important to understand that things are always changing and that it is okay to see what works best for you and your company.”
ESports and iRacing
NASCAR has found a very unique and entertaining way to reach their fan base during the COVID-19 pandemic. For someone who may be new to NASCAR they may not be aware of iRacing but it’s a sim racing platform used by many drivers to not only prepare for races but have fun as well. However, it’s not only limited to drivers, you can find crew members, crew chiefs, PR reps, and fans alike all competing on iRacing. For the past few weeks and continuing most likely until we’re back racing in real life again, NASCAR has held televised the Pro Invitational Series races with drivers such as Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ryan Blaney, Landon Cassill, Timmy Hill, and Ty Dillon to name a few. These races are much shorter in length with drivers competing from their sim rig in their own homes. For someone unfamiliar with the rigs they do consist of a steering wheel, and foot pedals, not just a hand controller as you’d see used on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.
While it’s not the real thing, it’s entertainment at its finest and has been broadcast live on FoxSports 1, Fox and the FoxSports app in recent weeks with a live broadcast crew featuring Jeff Gordon, Larry McReynolds and Mike Joy. (Crandall, K, Racer) It’s given some semblance to a ‘normal Sunday’ for those involved in the sport from a career standpoint and it’s a way to reach NASCAR’s large fanbase. Additionally, NASCAR went on to break their own record for viewership going from 770,000 viewers for the first week’s race from the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway to 903,000 viewers the following week for the race at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway. (Long, D. NASCAR, NBC Sports).
Fuller weighed in on the growth of sports, technology and how ESports will continue to grow over time, especially due to this unfortunate pandemic we are all currently facing.
“Sports are such a huge part of the world and our daily lives and it is only going to continue growing and evolving,” said Fuller. “Technology has already changed the look of sports in so many ways and with more and more technology being advanced and introduced, it won’t be long before fans can sit at home and feel like they’re sitting on a field in the middle of a game somewhere. Actually, they probably already can. But, things like ESports are going to continue growing, bring in a different line of fan and this pandemic has really showcased that. People are lost without sports to watch and talk about and I don’t see that changing in the future.”