RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Aug 29, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain (1) leads the field during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
Four Days, 1,000 Miles and Two Major Sports Events: Why We Decided to Do Both
There was a legitimate dilemma heading into this weekend.
Do I stay in Atlanta and cover the Tour Championship at East Lake, or head back to Daytona Beach for NASCAR’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend?
The answer, as it turned out, was both.
Thursday started at East Lake for Day 1 of the Tour Championship. Check.
Friday meant getting in the car and heading south. The first stop was Ponte Vedra, where our company headquarters gave me an opportunity to break up the drive with an early lunch, a few meetings and some business that needed to get done. Then it was back on the road to Daytona.
The afternoon included a scheduled interview with Ryan Preece at an ABC Fine Wine & Spirits location in Port Orange as part of our coverage of Kickstand Cocktails. From there, it was off to Daytona International Speedway for Cup Series media day and the media bullpen, followed by some actual racing with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Saturday was a little bit of everything: the beach, NASCAR and Week Zero college football. The bigger challenge was making sure we weren’t trying to do everything with the same two people. Our team coordinated coverage remotely, including getting our social admin to a football game while the motorsports operation continued rolling at the track.
That’s the part of the weekend I’m probably proudest of.
Being able to physically move between major events is one thing. Building a team capable of keeping multiple stories, races, interviews and social channels moving at the same time is another.
Then came Sunday.
Up at dawn, back in the car and north for more than 400 miles and roughly seven hours to get back to Atlanta in time for the final round of the PGA Tour season at East Lake.
By the time the weekend was over, we’d covered NASCAR at Daytona, the Tour Championship, college football in Week Zero and everything in between.
Scottie Scheffler, Ryan Preece and Ryan Sieg ended up putting the finishing touches on a weekend full of firsts for us.
Somewhere between all the interviews, media credentials and highway miles, the trunk also turned into a pretty accurate representation of the American South. A ridiculous haul of peaches, bags of pecans, PGA Tour hats and NASCAR shirts came home with me, along with enough snacks to make you question whether I was actually covering sporting events or conducting an unofficial regional food tour.
About 1,000 miles driven.
A ridiculous amount of music consumed.
Pecans and peaches picked up somewhere along the way.
And a whole lot of work getting done.
Four days. Two major sporting events. Multiple platforms. A growing team making it possible.
This is what building a sports media company looks like.
Give us a challenge and we’re going to give it our best shot. Goodnight, everyone.
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