NASCAR suspends driver over racial slur

NASCAR indefinitely suspended driver Kyle Larson after he used a racial slur in a livestream broadcast of an iRacing event on Sunday night.

The behavioural penalty NASCAR issued Monday cited two sections in its official rule book. Larson must also attend sensitivity training as directed by NASCAR.

“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. “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.”

Chip Ganassi Racing released a statement Monday announcing it had suspended Larson without pay.

“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,” Ganassi Racing said.

Larson, whose sponsors include McDonald’s, was participating in the exhibition virtual race and had problems with headset communication with his spotter.

In one microphone check, Larson, 27, could be heard using the N-word. The entire communication was broadcast to followers on the streaming service Twitch and eNASCAR.com.

The other 61 drivers in the race were also on the audio session and could hear Larson’s words.

“You can’t hear me?” he said on the livestream. “Hey, (expletive).”

“Kyle, you’re talking to everyone, bud,” one driver replied.

A second voice on the stream said, “No way did that just happen.”