Statement from Kyle Larson:

“I want to say I’m sorry. Last night I made a mistake and said the word that should never, ever, be said. There’s no excuse for that; I wasn’t raised that way. It’s just an awful thing to say. I feel very sorry for my family, my friends, my partners, the NASCAR community, and especially the African-American community. I understand the damage is probably unrepairable, and I own up to that. I want to let you all know how sorry I am. Finally, I just want to say that I hope everyone is staying safe during these crazy times. Thank you.”

Statement from NASCAR – April 13, 2020

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 13, 2020) – NASCAR has made diversity and inclusion a priority and will not tolerate the type of language used by Kyle Larson during Sunday’s iRacing event. Our Member Conduct Guidelines are clear in this regard, and we will enforce these guidelines to maintain an inclusive environment for our entire industry and fan base.

From nascar.com

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR following his use of a racial slur on a live stream during an iRacing event Sunday night.

The behavioral penalty NASCAR issued Monday cited Sections 12.1 (General Procedures) and 12.8 (NASCAR Member Conduct Guidelines) of the official Rule Book. Larson must also attend sensitivity training as directed by NASCAR.

Statement from Chip Ganassi Racing

“We are extremely disappointed by what Kyle said last night during an iRacing Event. The words that he chose to use are offensive and unacceptable. As of this moment we are suspending Kyle without pay while we work through this situation with all appropriate parties.”

From tobychristie.com

Wow. eSports Racing has not gone well lately for NASCAR stars. First, Bubba Wallace lost sponsor Blue-Emu after rage quitting early in last Sunday’s iRacing eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series event at Bristol.

Now, on Easter, Kyle Larson, too, had a moment during a virtual race that could impact his racing career.

During Landon Cassill’s Monza Madness event, Larson dropped a racially charged word on the driver voice chat.

In addition to the race broadcast being streamed on eNASCAR.com, many of the 60 drivers in the event had their own POV stream of the race. This is where the word was heard. Larson, apparently, didn’t realize that the radio communication he was sending out was going to the other drivers.

Larson, of course, paved his way up the NASCAR ladder through the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. This program was created in 2004 in an effort to give aspiring minority and female drivers a better chance at racing competitively in the sport.

Larson was a member of the program in 2012.

No word from Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing or their sponsors has been heard as of yet regarding the video above, but this was not a good look for the NASCAR Cup Series driver.