NASCAR driver Kyle Larson uses N-word during virtual race

Kyle Larson in October 2019.
Kyle Larson in October 2019.(Colin E. Braley/AP)

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson said the N-word on Sunday while taking part in a virtual race.
The 27-year-old driver uttered the racial slur after apparently losing audio contact with his spotter.
“You can’t hear me?” Larson said into his headset.
Larson then used the slur.
The driver’s comment surprised other participants in the online race, which was being live-streamed.
Moments after Larson used the slur, another driver replied, “Kyle, you’re talking to everyone bud.”
Larson has not commended on the incident. Larson, who is half Japanese, is the only current NASCAR racer of Japanese descent.
“NASCAR is aware of insensitive language used by a driver during an iRacing event on Sunday, and is currently gathering more information,” NASCAR said in a statement.
Sunday’s online race was not an official NASCAR event.
In 2013, the racing league suspended Jeremy Clements of the Xfinity Series for saying the N-word while speaking with a reporter. Clements took part a sensitivity training program before being re-instated.
Larson finished sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings in 2019 and has won six races in his career.
The virtual race took place as a form of entertainment amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the cancellation of numerous events and left people isolating at home.
Larson drives as a member of the Chip Ganassi Racing team, which has not commented on the situation.
His sponsors include Credit One Bank and McDonalds.

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