Kyle Larson completed his required sensitivity training but is still indefinitely suspended by NASCAR, NBC Sports confirmed Wednesday, May 6.
NASCAR suspended Larson on April 13 and ordered him to undergo sensitivity training after he spoke a racial slur during an iRacing event.
Chip Ganassi Racing released him on April 14 after his sponsors terminated their relationships with Larson. Then on April 27 the team announced that Matt Kenseth would replace Larson in the No. 42 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Larson is currently entered in a World of Outlaws event at Knoxville Raceway this week.
NASCAR has yet to announce when Larson will be reinstated.
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
It’s somewhat odd that a bi-racial minority such as Kyle Larson represents gets hammered for using a certain word….I just have to wonder if Bubba Wallace, who is also bi-racial, would have received the same treatment.
Not defending KL, just amazed at the fragility of support that is built into an enterprise that can be taken down by a single word.
I don’t condone use of racial slurs of any sort, but they are part of life, at one time or another, for many in society. I’m speaking from my own experience growing up in a small town in southeast Missouri that went through the trials and tribulations of integration when I was young, and a good bit of mandated sensitivity training for everyone while serving in the US Navy in the 1970’s
Here’s hoping Kyle can go on to be successful somewhere, whether in NASCAR or other forms of racing.
hahahahaha
Just like that, he is now sensitive.
YOU ARE SAVED!!!!!
now Bill….sadly this is more about NASCAR worrying about their image, if we can all be honest. I’m sure we’ve all noticed that the “sanitized” version of NASCAR has pretty much paralleled it’s decline in attendance and fan satisfaction, overall.
What was that phrase Robin Pemberton used….”have at it, boys”? Turns out there are some caveats.
I don’t think it was driven by Nascar at all, or even CGR. Once the major sponsors pulled out, for their own reasons, it was a done deal. CGR and Nascar had to do something or they would be seen, rightly or wrongly, as condoning Larson, and they couldn’t have that.
And until the sponsors come back nothing he does matters.
Thoroughly re-educated in the parlance of newspeak.
On the bright side, Kyle will have plenty of time to play his video games.
Kyle is racing at the top level this week in Knoxville. Kyle loves racing and he will be racing with the best and doing what he loves.
Nascar is required to be politically correct in order to retain sponsors. Nascar has been going downhill for quite some time. I’m tired of the commercialism. And attempts to imitate some ball sports.
Real racing on Friday night. Go Kyle! ?
Preach on. The Outlaws are real racing. NASCAR lost that distinction long ago.
Well isn’t that precious! Bless his heart!
It’s ironic that Larson’s (former) number 42 in the cup series is the same as Jackie Robinson’s retired number in baseball.
Really? How so, please explain…..
Jackie Robinson is revered in baseball for being the first black player to break the color barrier and start the integration of baseball. So much so that his number 42 is retired and no MLB player can use that number. Larson got in trouble for using a word that is a racial slur against black people (even though I don’t feel he used it in a malicious way). It is ironic that the he was caught saying this while being employed as the driver of the 42 car. Even though it is a different sport the number 42 has a special meaning in sports and I haven’t heard anyone make that connection.
There’s probably a good reason no one other than you made this connection…..
Ok, since you are going to come on here and be a jerk, I did a google search for you. It appears that I’m not the only one to make the connection. Marcus Stroman, pitcher for the NY Mets sent out a tweet that read:
“And he was driving the 42 car. The irony. Jackie Robinson would be ashamed.”
This was posted on the usatoday website. You can look it up yourself if you still don’t understand.
I’m sure Kyle is a multimillionaire. Some people speculate on how much money he has “lost”. Well that’s their value system but Kyle is a pure sportsman. Some ball sports guys cry because they made 20 million and the guy at the next locker makes 25.. This kind of greed is running amok. I have to shake my head when I see the teenagers skipping over short track experience because of their connections to the big time.. To see some of these entitled and arrogant punks who have no class whatsoever throwing steering wheels almost makes me physically ill. One ARCA child in particular irks me to no end. His Hall of Fame Grandpa should be completely embarrassed..
I know exactly which ARCA child you are talking about and his entitled actions have made him my most despised ARCA driver.
Count me in on that. What a pathetic, spoiled brat.
Kyle Larson was suspended by NASCAR. Why is he allowed to race with the WoO, another major racing sanctioning body with big time sponsors. It sounds like the WoO condones Kyle Larson’s racial slur? This is the PC slippery slope we live in when trying to control speech and hate.