NASCAR Racer Fired After Using Racial Slur During iRacing Event

Kyle Larson, the NASCAR driver who was heard earlier in the week using a racial slur during an iRacing event, has now been fired by Chip Ganassi Racing. The organization announced on Tuesday its intentions to part ways with Larson following the driver’s suspension after he dropped the racial slur during a streamed event. Larson shared an apology shortly after the video of him using the racial slur went viral and said the N-word he used should never be used. Chip Ganassi Racing’s statement on the matter called Larson’s firing “the only appropriate course of action to take.”

News of the latest action taken against Larson was shared this week by NASCAR’s news site in a staff report which confirmed the firing following this week’s suspension. The racial slur incident took place on April 12th with the suspension following shortly afterwards, so the decision to fire Larson was a relatively quick one.

Chip Ganassi Racing shared a statement on that matter that confirmed its plans to end its professional relationship with Larson and called the driver’s comments “offensive and unacceptable.”

“After much consideration, Chip Ganassi Racing has determined that it will end its relationship with driver Kyle Larson,” the organization said in a statement. “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.”

On April 13th, Larson shared the video above where he apologized for his actions. He said there was “no excuse” for what he said and apologized to all those who were affected by his using of the racial slur while acknowledging that the “damage is probably unrepairable.”

Though Larson has now been fired from Chip Ganassi Racing, it’s unclear from the report what his professional future may look like with NASCAR or other racing organizations.

NASCAR and other organizations have been using virtual events such as the iRacing events to fill the void left by the absence of sports after many professional events were canceled because of the coronavirus. The iRacing events should continue as planned, though perhaps with more guidelines or supervision in place in light of this incident.