Larson Fired After Racial Slur

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NASCAR driver Kyle Larson has been fired by his team, Chip Ganassi Racing, just two days after using the N-word during an iRacing event on Sunday night.

CGR originally suspended Larson without pay on Monday but made the decision to drop Larson, who is in his seventh Cup season with the team and was expected to be a free agent soon.

“After much consideration, Chip Ganassi Racing has determined that it will end its relationship with driver Kyle Larson," Ganassi said. "As we said before, the comments that Kyle made were both offensive and unacceptable especially given the values of our organization. As we continued to evaluate the situation with all the relevant parties, it became obvious that this was the only appropriate course of action to take.“

NASCAR also suspended the No. 42 driver on Monday, and his two main sponsors, McDonald's and Credit One Bank dropped him as well. 

"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," NASCAR said in a statement. "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." 

Larson, 27, a top driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, seemed to think he was in a private channel on the Twitch livestream while trying to communicate with other drivers. 

"You can't hear me? Hey (N-word)." 

Fellow drivers in the race then tried to tell Larson that he wasn't in a private channel and that everyone could hear him.

Well, @KyleLarsonRacin apparently dropping an n-bomb could be the biggest story in sports this weekend. pic.twitter.com/5gmkbcK6yM

— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) April 13, 2020

Larson posted a video on his Twitter apologizing.

"I made a mistake and said a word that should never, ever be said. There is no excuse for that," Larson said.

pic.twitter.com/RPsp7ARIea

— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) April 13, 2020

This is the second controversial issue that has taken place during NASCAR's iRacing league that they have put on throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The race on Sunday night was a practice race against multiple drivers and not an actual event in the series. 

Last week, driver Bubba Wallace quit mid-race due to rage on the live stream and was fired immediately by his sponsor, Blue-Emu. 

In 2013, Xfinity Series driver Jeremy Clements was suspended for saying the N-word and was reinstated after completing a sensitivity training course. 

Larson is half Japanese and climbed up the NASCAR ranks through its "Drive for Diversity program."