NASCAR | Kyle Larson Fired For iRacing Misdemeanour

[Paul Jeffrey]

Chip Ganassi Racing young hotshot Kyle Larson has found himself in deep water with his team and sport, following an ill advised racial slur during the recent iRacing NASCAR series broadcast.

One of the hottest young prospects within the NASCAR scene in recent years, Larson enjoyed his best season in the category to date in 2019, finish a very solid sixth in the title standings after just missing out on the chance to race for the championship in the final rounds of the series.

Despite having a car underneath him that never quite manages to challenge outright over the course of a full campaign, Larson has impressed many observers in recent years as he began to make a name for himself in the category - good work that looks like it has been severely compromised when the 27-year-old was heard using a racial slur during a recent iRacing NASCAR replacement series race.

Initially having been suspended from the real and virtual championships for an indefinite amount of time, Larson has since seen a number of key sponsors walk away from him in the last 24 hours, leaving his Chip Ganassi Racing outfit with the decision to fire the American driver with immediate effect - casing doubt on the viability of Larson's career in premier American Stock Car series.

Using the N word on a live broadcast has brought justified criticism of the driver from fans and insiders within the sport, forcing the six-time cup winner to post an apology for his actions on his social media channels - however, only time will tell if this is enough to reignite what has been a promising career for the Californian driver:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1249732388625752065

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[Raikku]

On the other hand, he's from minority himself too and minorities are usually able to say what ever they want. Certainly what we whiteys can't.

 

[Deleted member 151827]

The cancel crowd are out of control!

 

[Bonehead]

I was a police officer, and numerous name calling, racial slurs, and outright threats to kill my family and I were common on the way to the jail with a suspect. This was just one word that was believed to be heard in private, and not for the public to hear. I am not a racist and can't ever remember saying that word, and don't condone what Kyle said. I do believe however, to be stripped of a career due to one word is harsh.

 

[Jan Larsen]

Its a dumb f'cking thing to say but firing is equally stupid. Smells like corporate pressure from above to force the team to let him go (looking at you Chevy).

 

[Greg Latty]

Wow. Im very disappointed with some of these comments. There is NEVER an acceptable time to use that word. Black white or chinese purple pink. It doesnt matter. The fact that he used the word so calmly and freely shows that it is a part of his vocabulary. Imagine what he is saying behind closed doors. The basis of that word is pure hate and racism. To some people it means nothing because you never had to deal with racism. Learn the history behind that word before you dimiss it as "free speech" or harmless. People have been killed having that word yelled at them. But hey it doesnt affect you so its fine harmless banter right..

I'm black and my kids are half white and they've already been taught that just because they are half black doesn't not mean its ok to use that word.. EVER!!
Im glad he got fired. He is a role model and there are a lot of children and adults that look up to him. An example had to be made to show that it is not ok.

 

[Isaac Chavira]

I couldn't even imagine if today's gaming public heard the things that went down during Halo 3 online. Yeah, here in the US it is a detestable word. What I do not understand in the "Cancel Culture". If this is the road the world is headed on, no one will have a job. Not one person on this site or any other can throw any kind of stone. I have said some pretty outlandish stuff to people in the heat of the moment (not that word, although I have been called as such).

Rappers say that word all the time with impunity and call women names that would give a Nun a seizure. Yet those men and women still have careers. There needs to be consistency. Just like the rules in racing. You blow the pits, you get a drive through. Not "Oh well since you drive an Aston" you get a pass. I think overreacting in this manner only gives that word power. It also keeps that word going. We need to work to eliminate that word.

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

Ah yes, the pathetic overreaction of the false moralists. Always lurking in the corner, waiting for someone to say the most tiny thing just so they can shout "you are a horrible person, you have to be amazing like us, so now get punished for not being a false moralist!".

 

[CreamyCornCob]

Word has it from RacingRewts, he's been offered a full time gig, driving the tractor at the local dirt track doing track maintenance. Free hotdogs, why not.

 

[Terry Rock]

Not sure what context he said it in...either way, it was stupid to do so.
Should they have fired him? ....it again depends on the context and whether it was done as a malicious act or was just a silly 'hey' type of sense.
In either case, it was stupid and if firing was not the option based on intent...then certainly he should have been sternly reprimanded.
To those thinking it is no big deal, you may want to go look at the historical significance surrounding the word.
Lots of young folk...black and white, use that term very 'loosely' simply because they were not directly subjected to the absolute horror associated with that time in history.
He put the racing community, his bosses and his sponsors in an impossible position by simply using the word...regardless of context.
He has only himself to blame for this.

 

[antirussia81]

Thank God I'm not a public person because I would probably be fired once every month for things that I say.
But despite all those awful things that I say, it was me who got my ass kicked (badly) when few nazi pricks harrassed some dark skinned guy on a bus stop - and no one of the other people (who may have never said any of these awful things that I do) gave a damn or bothered to intervene.
I don't want to brag or boast. I'm just trying to explain what is really important: the things that you do, not the stuff that you say, sometimes in anger, sometimes jokingly. Words are only words - Kyle said something not very nice but he apologized. "Sorry" and "n....r" are both just words and the first one is good enough to repair the "damages" made by the second one.

 

[Chazz Ranger]

He clearly didn't mean it as a direct insult, definitely not an 'outburst' ffs. He was obviously just being a goofball, but of all the words he could have chosen to say, he says that. Hard lesson to learn, f**kface. My fake outrage will last exactly as long as I continue to see this story in the media, then I will completely forget it happened because NASCAR is a talentless steaming pile of good ol' boy racist WWE-drama garbage and deserves as much attention as a recently discarded diaper.
Oh sh!t, was my mic on??

 

[randMracer]

The word has too much power and is used without backlash in certain groups. It is used repeatedly in rap music but is used in a form that means a bro or a friend. In this context it seems to be acceptable.

Kids grow up listening to rap music and hear the N-word constantly. So when they talk to their friends, especially online, the term is part of their verbiage and becomes a habit. Those that have been in any online game such as COD will hear it all the time.

I think Kyle was part of this group and used the word with his friends while playing online games. I don't think he ever used it with racist connotations or bad intent. Unfortunately the online world has meshed with the real world so much that some have problems differentiating the two.

Due to the nature of the cancel culture NASCAR had no other options. Like I said, it's amazing how one word has so much power and which version is selected as offensive.

 

[RufGTI]

I find this “it wasn't a direct insult, so it was not that bad“ argument so silly. Using the N word without any context, reason or ulterior motive might be even worse than using it intentionally, as it's a sign of ignorance. And even if you argue that a phrase just is controversive “because it is“, you have to accept that.

 

[randMracer]

He clearly didn't mean it as a direct insult, definitely not an 'outburst' ffs. He was obviously just being a goofball, but of all the words he could have chosen to say, he says that. Hard lesson to learn, f**kface. My fake outrage will last exactly as long as I continue to see this story in the media, then I will completely forget it happened because NASCAR is a talentless steaming pile of good ol' boy racist WWE-drama garbage and deserves as much attention as a recently discarded diaper.
Oh sh!t, was my mic on??

Tell us how you really feel about NASCAR?

 

[randMracer]

I find this “it wasn't a direct insult, so it was not that bad“ argument so silly. Using the N word without any context, reason or ulterior motive might be even worse than using it intentionally, as it's a sign of ignorance. And even if you argue that a phrase just is controversive “because it is“, you have to accept that.

Apparently you've never listened to any rap music. Are you saying rappers are ignorant?

 

[odiopower]

I'll drop the n-bomb



NASCAR



Fight me!

 

[John B. Ellis]

If Kyle fired up virtually any hip-hop playlist on Spotify (re: they don't typically offer clean versions of songs), he would have been subjected to hearing THAT word about 1,000 times in short order. Ditto if Kyle ever played GTA-V. Or if he watched a Quentin Tarantino film. Like it or not, within the world of art and/or entertainment media, the N-word is hardly taboo.

 

[Chazz Ranger]

Tell us how you really feel about NASCAR?

Meh, it's alright

 

[safi hellie]

Todays world is just stupid and idiotic. Damn I miss better times in 80 and 90's, no one cared what you said or not.

You are on a forum where you can't even say ****.
Why are you even here?
Hardly fighting the man are you, ticking your little box of rules you abide by......

watch this:

s****horpe

That above is a place in England......can't even say that place name on here or many forums....
BTW rhymes with hunt...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S****horpe

 

[RufGTI]

Apparently you've never listened to any rap music. Are you saying rappers are ignorant?

Briefly summarized soapbox:

Rap music: artistic freedom, provocation as an art form and the special meaning of the use of an insult to a group of people by that group itself

That guy: prick