Ramsey Raymond Poston (born 1966 in Washington, D.C.) is president of Tuckahoe Strategies, a strategic communications firm known for crisis management. Poston served as NASCAR’s Managing Director of Communications and spokesperson from 2004 to 2011.[1]
Poston joined NASCAR in 2001 to assist in managing the controversy around the death of Dale Earnhardt.[2] Poston managed communications in a time of significant growth for the sport[3] but was also faced with a number of high-profile controversies.[4]
While at NASCAR, Poston oversaw communications regarding several major changes to the sport, including an updated championship points system,[5] racecar changes,[6] revised substance abuse policy,[7] and fan outreach and diversity enhancement.[8] Poston also oversaw NASCAR's push for greater media openness with the development of the NASCAR Citizen Journalist Corps.[9]
Poston served as the primary communications strategist and spokesperson in several controversies and lawsuits related to NASCAR. Those challenges included a major antitrust lawsuit involving a racetrack in Kentucky Speedway v. NASCAR;[10] a sponsorship lawsuit AT&T v. NASCAR;[11] and a lawsuit challenging NASCAR substance abuse policy, Jeremy Mayfield v. NASCAR.[12] In 2006, while NBC Sports was a league broadcast partner, NBC’s Dateline sent Muslim looking men to a race in southwest Virginia to see how the NASCAR fans would treat them.[13] In 2009, Poston expressed NASCAR's criticism of ABC’s coverage of the fall Talladega race, stating: "ABC missed a lot of good racing."[14]
Poston retold some of the “behind the scenes” steps NASCAR took as part of its accident investigation concerning the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt in a book entitled, “Chicken Soup for the Soul.[15]
Poston is currently president of Tuckahoe Strategies, a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, crisis management and litigation communications. The firm opened in 2011.[16] He also serves as senior counsel at Dominion Strategies[17] and is Of Counsel at Levick Strategic Communications.[18] Poston is a PR and crisis communications expert[19] who is sought after by journalists for insights into communications challenges surrounding professional sports issues.[20][21][22]In 2018 Poston published an ebook about crisis management, titled "The Crisis Communications Manual."[23]