BIRMINGHAM — With two weeks remaining until Talladega Superspeedway kicks off its fall slate of NASCAR-sanctioned races, NASCAR Camping World Series driver Noah Gragson, a contender to win his series’ event at Talladega, made a stop at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama on Wednesday.

Gragson visited one-on-one time with nearly 30 kids, and activities included racing remote control cars, video racing games, coloring and photos in addition to signing autographs.

“It’s an incredible experience for myself,” Gragson said to Yellowhammer News. “I wish I could go there every day because no win at any racetrack, nothing can compare to putting smiles on those kids’ faces like I did today. It really makes my day and really makes me happy to see them. It’s hard to see them like that. They really have a part of my heart. To be able to make them smile, make their day – if it’s for a couple of hours, or a couple of days, or a couple of years, or a lifetime – that’s what makes me happy.”

Talladega Superspeedway public relations director Russell Branham touted the partnership, which features activities at the speedway in addition to driver visits to the Children’s of Alabama facility in Birmingham.

“We’re very thrilled to say we’ve had Children’s of Alabama as one of our partners,” explained Branham in an interview with Yellowhammer News. “They actually sponsor our kids’ program – our kids’ VIP program that we do with the racetrack, which includes a lot of cool experiences for children on race days. We try to cross-promote with them. And one of the things we’ve always tried to do is when we see a need, and there are children out there that we can put a smile on their faces with NASCAR drivers, we try to do.”

Branham, who has decades of experience being intimately involved in NASCAR, also sang the praises of the 20-year-old truck racing phenom Gragson and predicted he would be great for the future of NASCAR.

“I’ve never seen someone as personable as he is,” Branham said. “I mean, he would go up to a child that really wouldn’t say anything but he would do the talking for three or four minutes and sometimes, that is hard to do. He took time with every child that was in front of him. He took time with every child.”

“He’s one of the most personable young men at 20 years old that I’ve seen in a long time — a sports athlete that can just come in and do what he did today,” he added. “I was thoroughly impressed with him. When we walked away, so many children were laughing, so many children were smiling. That’s a credit to him. I think he’s going to be great for the future of the sport of NASCAR to share that personal connection with race fans. I saw it first-hand here this morning.”

Gragson also a tie to the University of Alabama — well, sort of.

Gragson is very close with NASCAR driver and spotter Brandon McReynolds, Larry McReynolds. The elder McReynolds, now a Fox Sports commentator, was a crew chief for the late Alabama Gang driver Davey Allison and the late legendary driver Dale Earnhardt.

Larry McReynolds is also a native of Birmingham and a big fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide, which he passed down to his son Brandon, who passed it on to Gragson.

“Roll Tide,” Gragson said. “Brandon McReynolds, Larry McReynolds’ son, he has been a really big part of my career and has been working with me for the last three years now. [Larry] is from down here, and Brandon is an Alabama fan. He took me over to one of the campus stores. I got a hat last year and a couple of T-shirts. So, I still rock my Alabama gear for sure.”

Talladega Superspeedway’s doubleheader NASCAR Playoff weekend kicks off on Friday, October 12 with qualifying for the Talladega 250 at 4:35 p.m. CDT. Saturday’s slate includes the running for the Talladega 250 at noon CDT followed by Foodland/Food Giant Qualifying for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at 3:35 p.m. CDT.

The weekend’s feature event on Sunday will showcase some of the world’s best drivers dueling it out in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race, the second (of three) in the Round of 12, where the green flag will wave at 1 p.m. CDT.

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and is the editor of Breitbart TV.