Yahoo Autos NASCAR Driver Kyle Larson to Be Reinstated After Suspension for Using N-Word
Embattled NASCAR Cup driver Kyle Larson has been cleared to return to NASCAR on January 1, 2021. The driver was suspended by NASCAR on April 13 and fired by Chip Ganassi Racing on April 14 after using a racial slur on an iRacing NASCAR stream.
"You can't hear me?" Larson asked on the stream, apparently mistakenly broadcasting his communications with his spotter. "Hey, n*****."
His racist comments provoked outrage inside and out of NASCAR, leading to an eight-month suspension. Larson, a half-Japanese driver who came up through NASCAR's Drive For Diversity program, has also received more education on racial issues during his suspension and spent time with community members in an attempt to learn more about what Black Americans face. In a blog post, he detailed the measures he's taken to educate himself and atone for both his usage of a cruel slur and his larger blind spots about racial inclusion.
"I realized how little I really knew about the African-American experience in this country and racism in general," Larson wrote. "Educating myself is something I should’ve done a long time ago, because it would’ve made me a better person – the kind of person who doesn’t casually throw around an awful, racist word. The kind who makes an effort to understand the hate and oppression it symbolizes and the depth of pain it has caused Black people throughout history and still to this day. It was past time for me to shut up, listen and learn."
His work in the community and with a diversity coach seemingly showed enough growth that NASCAR is ready to bring him back into the sport. Six months into his suspension, the sanctioning body has decided that his suspension will end at the beginning of next year.
“Kyle Larson has fulfilled the requirements set by NASCAR, and has taken several voluntary measures, to better educate himself so that he can use his platform to help bridge the divide in our country. Larson’s indefinite suspension has been lifted," a statement from NASCAR said. "Under the terms of his reinstatement, he will be cleared to return to all NASCAR racing activities effective January 1, 2021.”
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