NASCAR Driver Kyle Larson Suspended For Racist Language During iRacing Event

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson placed himself in hot water by uttering a racial slur during a live streamed iRacing event. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, social gatherings have been completely banned. That includes sports events like football games, the entire baseball season, and NASCAR. To their credit, the NASCAR organization has continued to entertain their passionate fans by switching over to digital events. Now, rather than racing on real circuits to crowds of screaming fans, drivers participate in iRacing simulations over the internet.

The system keeps racers and viewers safe at home while still providing the timeless NASCAR action that has kept fans satisfied for over 70 years. A step beyond simulation video games like Forza and Gran Turismo, iRacing is a straight-up simulation of NASCAR and has thus proven to be a satisfactory replacement for live racing, at least for now, during the COVID-19 crisis.

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Unfortunately, the act of working from home has resulted in a less-than-professional outburst from NASCAR driver Kyle Larson. During a live streamed iRacing event, Larson used a racial slur (the N-word, to be specific) while calling out for his spotter, either not realizing or not caring he was broadcasting to the entire viewing public. Per sports reporter Adam Stern, immediately following the incident, Larson was suspended indefinitely without pay by NASCAR.

Larson also apologized for his offensive language in a video posted to Twitter:

Streamers have an unfortunate history of misbehaving live in front of thousands of viewers, whether it’s PewDiePie’s usage of the N-word on a stream in 2017, or the recent incident where Carl “SoaRCarl” Riemer fired a gun during a stream. Perhaps there’s something about broadcasting from home that causes loose lips to say things they otherwise wouldn’t say in public, but that’s absolutely no excuse for this type of behavior. What makes this particular event especially upsetting is that Larson is one of several NASCAR drivers who took the RISE pledge in 2016. The pledge was an effort from within the sports community to fight discrimination in the world of NASCAR, which has traditionally failed to attract a sizeable following of non-white fans.

It remains to be seen what Larson’s final fate in NASCAR will be. He is under an indefinite suspension without pay and must undergo sensitivity training. Afterwards, will he return to NASCAR as though nothing ever happened? Or will he find himself unable to escape the shadow of his past deeds? Time will tell, but streamers, whether they be video game enthusiasts or sports superstars, really need to make a greater effort to cut down the hate speech.

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Source: Adam Stern and Kyle Larson

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About The Author

Zak Wojnar is a writer from New York City. He’s covered everything from video games and movies to maple syrup and deli business. Thanks to Screen Rant, he’s discovered his newest passion, interviewing artists. He takes great joy in letting film and gaming legends tell their own story and share their passion for their art.
Zak’s first memory is going with his dad to Tower Records and buying the VHS boxed set of the original Star Wars trilogy. Over the next decade or so, those tapes would be completely worn out through overuse. When he’s not preparing for the next big interview, he can usually be found sitting too close to the TV, either re-watching Miami Vice or The X-Files, or getting lost in a video game.
Zak has bylines at Game Informer, Muscle & Fitness, PopCultureGalaxy, Men’s Fitness, Cheese Connoisseur, and Deli Business (see, that wasn’t a joke before!), among others.
Follow and engage with him on Twitter @ZakWojnar.

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