A New Chapter

Tommy Lee Byrd getting the perfect shot, with wife, Christina Byrd shooting video in the background

For the past 15 Great Races, it has been my job to capture the event in photos, write about it in articles, and post about it on social media channels. I began working in the Marketing Department at Coker Tire in 2009 and became familiar with the Coker Tire Challenge, a regional rally event that was based out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Then, in 2010, the Coker Tire staff was informed that Corky Coker bought the Great Race and that we’d be reviving the event in the summer of 2011. I was elected to photograph the event alongside Corky’s son Cameron. We rode together in a Chevy Cruze rental car and roomed together. It was unlike anything I’d experienced in my career. My only reference point was the archive photos from previous events, and I had a few new ideas to add to the mix.

It was an interesting time for social media, as it was still relatively new. When the previous Great Race event took place just a few years prior, social media platforms were not being used for serious media coverage, but by 2011, it was something we took seriously. Along with that, I wanted to post daily articles on the Great Race website to call attention to the route, the cities and any interesting things that took place during the day. I learned a lot that first year and I’ve made a commitment in my career to never stop learning. Every year was a new set of challenges and every year I came home to Tennessee with a lot of new memories and several thousand photos.

I never knew that I’d do 15 of these events. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel with a great friend and co-worker, Jason White, who is now your Great Race Announcer. But in a previous life, he was in charge of video production for the event. We have spent thousands of hours in a rental vehicle or hotel room together, and man, we accumulated some fun memories along the way. When he stepped into the announcing job, I was on my own, which was its own challenge to overcome, but I continued focusing on improving my photo quality and social media coverage year after year.

Then, in 2023, my wife Christina started traveling with me and that was a real game changer for me. The two weeks on the road is rough when you know you’re leaving your wife back home to deal with three kids. By 2023, the kids were big enough to spend a couple weeks with grandparents and give us the opportunity to travel together. It wasn’t a leisurely situation though. I still had a mountain of work ahead of me and I immediately put Christina to work. She handles some of the driving, she shoots video and she provides the snacks.

Tommy Lee and Christina Byrd at the 2026 finish line in Pasadena, CA

My daily routine is to get out ahead of the racers each day. I take the same route as the racers, using the same printed instructions as the racers. I follow the route until I see a backdrop that would make a good picture and then wait for the cars to come. I shoot 10 to 20 cars and hop back in the vehicle to find the next spot. Then to the lunch stop, then more scenic locations during the afternoon and finally to the hosted evening stop. Meanwhile, Christina is capturing photos and video for social media purposes. I take those materials and turn them into daily recap videos, and then (for the last two years) I use bits and pieces to create the video that is played at the Awards Banquet. After the festivities are over for the day, the hotel room becomes my workstation, as I choose and edit photos for the day’s recap article on the website. Then, it’s time to edit video and get that published. So, as you can imagine, the days and nights are long. Even with outstanding support from Felicia Morgan and Hunter Madison, it’s a huge undertaking to cover this event.

Despite the intense amount of work, I’ve made a lot of great friends and memories because of the Great Race. Seeing those smiling faces and trading daily stories with other staffers and racers makes a rough day seem much more manageable. I’ve seen 45 of the 50 states, mostly because of my involvement with the Great Race. Crater Lake, Mount Washington, Sitgreaves Pass and Pikes Peak are at the top of my list, but there are thousands of experiences that I would’ve missed out on if the Great Race hadn’t landed in my path. And because I’ve been able to include my wife in the last few races (as well as the 2012 event), she’s been able to add lots of experiences to her memory bank as well.

Along with my job at Coker Tire and my responsibilities with the Great Race, I have worked with dozens of magazines, providing photos and articles on a freelance basis. Magazine work is where my career started in 2007 and it’s something I kept pursuing even after my first job in the industry fizzled out in 2009. Freelancing kept me close to the magazine world, and I’ve balanced that with my regular job situation for the past 17 years. Job offers have come my way through the years, but none have ever landed in a good spot for me until a few weeks ago. I was offered a job as the Editor of All Chevy Performance Magazine and I accepted it.

That means my position at Coker Tire is coming to an end. My last day at Coker was Wednesday, October 14th, and I’m immediately starting the new job. It’s a big change, and it’s an opportunity that I don’t take lightly. The magazine company, In the Garage Media, is

located in Southern California, but I’ll be working out of my home office in Dayton, Tennessee. Because the 2027 Spring Rally and Great Race will spend some time in Chattanooga, I expect to at least make a guest appearance, but I will no longer be traveling with the race in its entirety. I wish all of you well, and I want to say a special thank you all the people who pour their heart and soul into this event year after year. Thanks for the memories!

--Tommy Lee Byrd