HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - "Got me, Toothless?"
It's likely not the first time a NASCAR driver ever uttered that phrase to someone supporting him. However, it's the first time it's been used in this context.
Kyle Larson, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader, is trussed up in a harness, wearing a helmet and staring up from the bottom of a 32-foot phone pole on the campus of Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. He is securely attached by a rope, one end of which is being held by a youngster from Melbourne, Australia, who was tagged by instructors with the most unflattering call sign of "Toothless."
Larson deftly hustles up the pole, clinging to large metal staples that serve as runs. He reaches the top, stands triumphantly on the pizza-sized platform, then leaps out six feet to grab a second rope before Toothless and Co. help ease him down.
At 5-foot-7 and 135 pounds, the 24-year-old race car driver blends in easily with the Space Campers. He is here as part of a promotional visit in advance of the Geico 500, set for May 7 at Talladega Superspeedway. Perhaps as a reward for his media obligations on the stop, he gets plenty of time to play with Space Camp toys: a zip line, a flight simulator and a centrifuge that lets its riders experience the G forces of flight.
"An absolute blast," Larson proclaims.
And even the media obligations were A-OK.
"I've been doing more interviews and stuff, talking about how our season has been up to date," Larson said during a news conference. "When you're doing lots of interviews, you're doing good. I'd rather be talking to people than not."
In his fourth year driving the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet, he has one win (at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.) after stringing together consecutive runner-up finishes at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. He was leading the last lap in the Daytona 500 before running out of gas, a predicament that caught several drivers that day.
"It is a surprise," Larson said of being first in the standings. "I didn't expect to start this well. I knew we'd be pretty good, but not this good. We were so fast at the end of the last year, then you find a couple of small gains, and for how tight and competitive our series is, it shows up on the race track."
Recently, Kevin Harvick anointed Larson as "the best driver to come along since Jeff Gordon."
Whoa. Let's think about who has come into the sport since Gordon's 1992 debut. Harvick. Tony Stewart. Kurt and Kyle Busch. Brad Keselowski. And a seven-time season champion named Jimmie Johnson.
"That was awesome," said Larson, who started on the pole but finished 17th last week at Martinsville. "Kevin Harvick is an amazing driver. I think he's probably the most talented driver in NASCAR right now. For him to say that about me means a lot.
"I feel like I've learned a lot off him. He's always got an in-car camera, so I can always study his film. He's a very competitive person and somebody I try to learn as much as I can off him."
Larson has a four-point lead over 21-year-old series sophomore Chase Elliott, which reminds observers of the current youth movement in NASCAR.
"It's really cool," Larson said. "It seems like there are two or three new young talented guys that make it into the Cup Series every year. I think NASCAR is in a great spot. There are a lot of young guys below us who are waiting their turn.
"The racing will be different over the next three to five years. The average age is going to get younger, and the guys are hungry and want to win bad. I think it'll be more aggressive."
- Last race: Keselowski outdueled Kyle Busch at Martinsville in the year's first short-track race to become the first two-time winner in 2017.
- Next race: O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Texas Motor Speedway, 1:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, Fox.
- Pick to win: Elliott. Wouldn't it be appropriate for his first win to come on same track as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s?
- Fast Five: 1. Keselowski, 2. Larson, 3. Joey Logano, 4. Martin Truex Jr., 5. Elliott.
- What they're saying: "It's still early in the year. I don't think I notice (pressure from leading the points) a whole lot yet. As it gets in the playoffs, that's when you see the intensity level go up." - Larson
Contact Mark McCarter at markfmccarter@gmail.com.