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NASCAR's Larson Suspended for Racial Slur

Kyle Larson’s racial slur cost him his two primary NASCAR supporters. It likely will cost him his job soon.

 

McDonald’s and Credit One Bank ended their sponsorship of Larson on Monday, a day after he used the N-word during a live stream of a virtual race. The decision came hours after NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing suspended Larson indefinitely, his team doing so without pay.

 

Without funding from McDonald’s and Credit One Bank, Ganassi seemingly will be forced to dump Larson in favor of a different driver.

 

McDonald’s has partnered with CGR for nearly a decade and sponsors the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet in the Cup Series. Ending its relationship with Larson would make it next to impossible for Ganassi to stick with Larson behind the wheel.

 

Ross Chastain would be a likely replacement. Chastain is a Ganassi development driver who has been on loan to Roush Fenway Racing as an injury fill-in for Ryan Newman.

 

NASCAR ordered Larson, who is half Japanese, to complete a sensitivity training course before he can be eligible for reinstatement.

 

Larson apologized in a video posted on his social media accounts.

 

Larson said, quote - “I made a mistake, said the word that should never, ever be said. There is no excuse for that. I wasn’t raised that way. It is 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."

Larson was competing in an iRacing event Sunday night when he appeared to lose communication on his headset with his spotter. During a check of his microphone, he asked his spotter, “You can’t hear me?” That was followed by the N-word.

 

The slur was directed at his spotter, who is white.

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