ABC 33/40 Sports takes a trip around Talladega Superspeedway

Wednesday was truly a once in a lifetime experience for members of our ABC 33/40 Sports team. It's not every day you get a chance to do a live hit in the 6 p.m. news in a pace car at Talladega Superspeedway. President of Talladega Superspeedway Brian Crichton drove us around the track for a few laps and my biggest surprise was just how incredibly steep the banks are on all four turns.

“Now these turns have 33 degrees of banking. So this is the steepest racetrack in all of NASCAR,” said Crichton.

When you come to Talladega you feel as if you’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket, as a driver. Literally anything can happen. “Drivers can't wait to get to Talladega. It's one of those wild card races where everybody's got a shot,” said Crichton.

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“Now the Fords are strong this year. But the people that have the most fun at Talladega are the fans that are here because of the amazing racing that these drivers put on,” said Crichton.

As the GEICO 500 nears, we asked Crichton who he likes as a dark horse driver to win it all come Sunday afternoon.

“Noah Gragson. He's won before the XFINITY series. So he's my pick as a dark horse, but those Penske drivers, they've been fast. So Ryan Blaney, he's my strong pick.”

The GEICO 500 from Talladega Superspeedway will take place Sunday with the green flag set to wave at 2 p.m. central time.