What is The Podium Finish?
The Podium Finish (TPF) is more than the culmination of one man’s dream from a bout of homesickness. TPF is a not just one-stop hub for feature stories, interviews, and analysis about NASCAR, motorsports and basketball.
It is more than an award-winning outlet with numerous journalists and photographers with National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) memberships.
It is the ever evolving vision of Rob Tiongson, a first generation Filipino American born in Boston with a love for journalism and storytelling. Founded in 2008 as a recurring segment during Tiongson’s tenure with Bleacher Report from 2008 to 2010, TPF features unique stories, analyses and perspectives going beyond the traditional box score and race summaries.
Tiongson, a student of journalism since 2004, studied at Suffolk University in Boston from 2004 to 2007 before moving to the Philippines with his family. From 2007 to early 2011, Tiongson was always drawn back to the latest events in NASCAR and sports taking place thousands of miles away while he studied overseas.
When NASCAR Cup Series races started just after 2 or 3 p.m. ET on Sundays, Tiongson would be up at 1 or 2 a.m. local time in the Philippines to cover the action. This was more than a passion project for him. It became his aspirations for his career ambitions.
In early 2011, Tiongson sold his possessions and paused his undergrad studies to move back to Boston to have a better chance of breaking into the motorsports media industry. He served as a freelance public relations representative for up and coming drivers like Natalie Sather, Candace Muzny and Kerstin Smutny Lewis, learning the effort and hard work with authentically telling their stories to a racing audience.
Resuming his undergrad studies in 2014, Tiongson graduated from Southern New Hampshire University in the fall of 2015. By this point, Tiongson interviewed the likes of Jeff Gordon, AJ Allmendinger, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick when he made the drive to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Relocating to Central Texas in 2018, Tiongson has made the trip from Austin to Michigan and Charlotte, saving up his earnings to cover each weekend. As an independent journalist, Tiongson strives to cover as many onsite races, out-of-pocket, while devoting his weekends to providing stellar coverage of each race weekend.
As the Editor-in-Chief of TPF, Tiongson oversees a team of 66 hardworking, dedicated individuals who cover motorsports and sports. Each member of the TPF team share the same, common goal as Tiongson — to bring the action closer from the racetrack or arena into your homes with authenticity.