April 14, 2020 | By Lee Spencer

Kyle Larson's career unravels after critical mistake

Yung Money is older and wiser now. 

In less than 48 hours, Kyle Larson watched his NASCAR career unravel before his eyes after letting a racial slur slip during Sunday night’s iRacing event at virtual Monza.

And that was all it took.

One by one, each company that had signed up to support him during the 2020 NASCAR Cup season denounced the 27-year-old driver, drying up the single source necessary to sustain a race team—money.

Without a way to support Larson's racing program, and because of the severity of the offense, Team Ganassi chose to release the driver on Tuesday. 

“After much consideration, Chip Ganassi Racing has determined that it will end its relationship with driver Kyle Larson,” the team said in a release. “As we said before, the comments that Kyle made were both offensive and unacceptable especially given the values of our organization. As we continued to evaluate the situation with all the relevant parties, it became obvious that this was the only appropriate course of action to take.”

Chevrolet, which had backed Larson’s stock car efforts through his transition from USAC to NASCAR also changed the wording from “suspended its relationship with Kyle Larson indefinitely” in Monday’s initial statement to “immediately terminating its relationship with Mr. Larson” less than 24 hours later. 

That’s how quickly poor judgment can change one’s life.

“I just want to say I’m sorry,” Larson said via Twitter video on Monday. “Last night I made a mistake and said the word that should never, ever be said. There’s no excuse for that. I wasn't raised that way. You know, it’s 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.

“I understand the damage is probably unrepairable—and I own up to that. But I just want to let you all to know how sorry I am. And I hope everyone is staying safe during these crazy times. Thank you.”

Larson’s mea culpa was sincere enough. From my first encounter with Larson prior to his ARCA Racing debut at Michigan in June 2012, the Elk Grove, Californian has been nothing but sincere and genuine. Larson has also been gracious—particularly for a young father of two—when it comes to being accessible to the media. Even after flipping his midget or exiting the infield care center following a wreck, Larson has always been generous with the media.

Not for a second do I believe there was any malicious intent in the words that came out of his mouth during the iRacing event on Sunday night. But ignorance is not an excuse for such an egregious breach. 

I’d be lying if I said I had never heard the N-word in the NASCAR garage. But times have changed, and NASCAR has made a concerted effort to make big-time stock car racing more diverse and inclusive. As the sport has become more corporate, competitors have come to the understanding that certain words will not be tolerated. It’s not surprising that fellow competitors appeared shocked on the Twitch broadcast at Larson’s comment. I know I was.

The sad irony is that Larson has been the most successful driver to have come through NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.The sanctioning body takes great pride in claiming the Japanese-American as one of its graduates—even if he’s made self-deprecating remarks regarding his heritage in the past. Although I’m not sure whether sensitivity training was part of the curriculum, it should be for all young drivers, particularly by the time they graduate to Cup. If Larson hopes to race in NASCAR again, he’ll have a thorough understanding of the sport’s member conduct guidelines before he returns.

While Larson’s NASCAR resume might not reflect his immense talent, there have been flashes of brilliance over the last eight years. It would be a loss to extinguish that potential now. 

But Larson's path back to racing prominence will be one that's long and difficult--and perhaps impossible.