Thursday morning: Board a plane with Scott and fly from Minneapolis to Charlotte, N.C. – one of my all-time favorite cities.

Thursday afternoon: Arrive in CLT, enjoy a Chick-fil-A dining experience (seriously fantastic) and head to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Thursday evening: Meet some of our favorite Coca-Cola clients at the media center and unveil an antique Vendo 44 machine with the help of driver Denny Hamlin. The Vendo will be presented to the winner of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

Friday EARLY morning (4:30): Get up and get to the track for TV interviews with Ben Reiling and Susan Stribling from Coke. Both did an awesome job.

Friday late morning: The fourth Coca-Cola Family Track Walk begins at 11. Between 6,000 and 7,000 NASCAR fans join drivers Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip for a walk around the 1.5-mile track, then feast on chicken and burgers cooked on the nation’s longest grill (quarter-mile long!). Drivers conducted lots of TV interviews (local and via satellite). The heat – my God, the heat. 92 degrees and HUMID.

Friday late afternoon: Edit b-roll package and send out nationally.

Friday evening: Get on the phone with another favorite client – Ellen – to talk about the next day’s Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown event in Cleveland. LeBron has just confirmed he’ll attend. Book travel.

Saturday morning: Mechanical issues delay flight to Cleveland (newly one of my least loved cities).

Saturday afternoon: Arrive 2 hours late in Cleveland, make my way to event location downtown near the Cuyahoga River (stinky). Sunny. Hot. But a nice, dry heat.

Saturday evening: LeBron arrives at event to watch amateurs lay down some strong dunks. Shoot soundbites with him so we can develop what will be an awesome viral video promoting the Showdown (check it out: www.nba.com/dunk)

Saturday night: Edit b-roll from event and send to Cleveland TV stations. Sleep for a few hours at rank Cleveland hotel (smelled worse than the river).

Sunday morning: Board a plane and return to Charlotte. Meet up with Scott at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Sunday afternoon: Blistering, painful, disgusting heat. Can barely stand it. Walking from the motorcoach to the media center (60 yards) is enough to render me comatose. Put the finishing touches on Coca-Cola’s Chairman’s Message, which will air just before the start of the race. Conduct radio interviews with Coke clients and the Grand Marshal of the race.

Monday morning: Scott and I head to CLT for a flight back to Minnesota, where it’s a heavenly 68 degrees.

It was a great, albeit exhausting, weekend. Following are some quick stats:

Total polo shirts sweated through: 2

Total number of bags packed: 3

Total number of flights: 4

Total miles logged: 3,392

Total impressions generated: 50+ million

When I was 17, I was playing Riff, leader of the Jets, in the Fergus Falls High School production of “West Side Story.” I was also running cross-country, playing in the orchestra and painting houses in the summer for a little extra cash. I thought I was a high-achieving young man.

But I had yet to win my first Olympic gold medal, triumph in a nationally televised reality show or serve as an honorary official at one of NASCAR’s biggest races.

Shawn Johnson, ya got me.

The pint-sized dynamo, fresh off her triumph in the latest series of “Dancing With the Stars,” is making appearances this weekend at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

We’ve had the privilege of planning and organizing several fun events for her, including a 160 mph ride on the track with NASCAR fan favorite Kyle Petty, and a meet-and-greet with pit crews who will teach the 4’9″ gold medalist on the balance beam how to jack up a race car and change a tire.

She will not, as far as I know, actually take a parade lap on the hood of the Toyota Camry Hybrid pace car. But at this point, I wouldn’t put anything past her.

Literally speaking, a quarter-mile grill has been custom-built for the event and will wrap in an oval around the infield on the race track near pit road and the start/finish line. It’s the nation’s longest grill at the site of NASCAR®’s longest race. Coca-Cola 600 ticket holders and those with an annual credential are invited to have a free meal including hamburgers and hot dogs cooked to perfection on some 7,000 pounds of Kingsford® Charcoal; sides including Suddenly Saladâ„¢, Betty Crockerâ„¢ brownies and Food Lion potato chips; and, of course, ice-cold Coca-Cola. The day marks the debut of the new summer can series which feature grills, beach balls, surfboards, sunglasses and stars and stripes — a the perfect addition to any summer celebration. 

Celebrity chef and Food Network star Tyler Florence will oversee the festivities along with Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte and Clint Bowyer. Racing legend and grand marshal Bobby Allison and celebrated artist Sam Bass will both be in attendance. The Toyota Camry Hybrid pace car and the actual Coca-Cola sponsored 1969 Mercury Cyclone® that Bobby Allison drove to victory in the 1971 Coca-Cola 600 will both be on display, and attendees will have a chance to win cool prizes by answering trivia questions throughout the event.

We’ve had the great pleasure of working on this event for Coca-Cola alongside partner agency IMG, and I couldn’t be more excited for Friday’s festivities. If you’re in Charlotte, we’d love to see you there! We’ll be tweeting throughout the day from the event and if you’re friends with us on Facebook, all of the event details can be found there. See you at the track!

Lopez was a dream to work with – his response to requests from our team was “no problem” and his answers to questions from media tactfully weaved in our client’s key messages (in English and Spanish). 

You may not have heard of Lopez before reading this, but I suspect you will as we get closer to this summer’s Olympics.  He’s already got two gold medals under his (black) belt from the 2000 and 2004 Games and he’s set to make history in Beijing – joining his brother Mark and sister Diana as the first trio of siblings in more than 100 years to compete for the U.S. in the same Olympics.  Oh, and his older brother Jean is the team’s coach. 

Sure, taekwondo is not typically “must see TV” for NBC’s primetime Olympic broadcast, but the Lopez family’s story might be too good to pass up.  It certainly wouldn’t be the first time an Olympian turned success in a niche sport into a burst of stardom.  Remember short-track speed skater Apolo Ohno?  How about Greco-Roman Wrestler Rulon Gardner?  All you need is a great story and a great smile – and Lopez has both (I can say this with confidence since he has appeared on People’s 50 Most Beautiful People list).

Bottom line: Keep an eye on Lopez over the next few months – he’s someone to root for as a fan and a candidate to effectively deliver your brand message if you’re a marketer.