CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Larson has been fired by Chip Ganassi Racing, a day after nearly every one of his sponsors dropped the star driver for using a racial slur during a live stream of a virtual race.
Larson was in his seventh Cup season with Ganassi and had been prepping to test free agency for the first time. Just weeks ago, the 27-year-old was considered the top free agent in NASCAR. Now he is out of a job in what could ultimately be an eight-figure blunder.
He was suspended without pay by Ganassi early Monday, then suspended indefinitely by NASCAR and Larson, who is half Japanese, was ordered to complete a sensitivity training. But his entire program fell apart as primary sponsors McDonalds and Credit One Bank pulled their funding from Larson. Chevrolet suspended its relationship with him, and all but one commercial partner denounced Larson’s comment and indicated they were ending their relationship.
Previously…
Charlotte, NC (AP) — NASCAR driver Kyle Larson used a racial slur on a live stream during a virtual race and has been suspended by NASCAR and without pay by his team. Larson was competing in an iRacing event when he appeared to lose communication on his headset with his spotter. He said during a check of his microphone “you can’t hear me?” That was followed by the N-word. The star driver apologized, saying there was “no excuse” for his comment. Larson is half Japanese and his grandparents spent time in an interment camp in California. He is the second driver in a week to draw scrutiny while using the online racing platform.
