NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson appeared to use the N-word during a live stream of an iRacing Pro Series event Sunday night hosted by fellow NASCAR driver Landon Cassill.
Apparently not realizing his broadcast was being transmitted publicly, Larson who competes for Chip Ganassi Racing in real life Cup Series competition seemed to say to his apparent spotter on the streaming network Twitch, “You can’t hear me? Hey, n—.”
Some light chatter in the stream continued before Xfinity Series driver Anthony Alfredo responded, “Kyle, you’re talking to everyone, bud.”
Other users replied, “Yup, we heard that” and “Oh, damn, he did not just say that.”
Quickly, the discussion ventured outside the virtual racing world to social media.
The audio transmission which occurred during a session before Sunday night’s “Monza Madness” at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy can be heard here. The race was also broadcasted through an official NASCAR website.
Larson has not authenticated the audio transaction nor made any public comments regarding the incident although he allegedly sent a direct Twitter message to one Twitch user asking them to delete their audio link to the stream.
A spokesperson for NASCAR said Monday morning, “NASCAR is aware of insensitive language used by a driver during an iRacing event on Sunday, and is currently gathering more information.”
At approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday, Larson’s team Chip Ganassi Racing announced a suspension of their driver without pay. “We are extremely disappointed by what Kyle said last night during an iRacing Event. The words that he chose to use are offensive and unacceptable. As of this moment we are suspending Kyle (Larson) without pay,” the statement read.
Larson, a Japanese American racer is an alumnus of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
In March 2013, NASCAR indefinitely suspended NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jeremy Clements for making “an intolerable and incentive remark” that violated its code of conduct.
In the NASCAR rule book, the section on conduct lists a public statement or communication that “criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition” as an action that “could result in a fine and / or indefinite suspension, or termination.”
Clements used the N-word during an interview with MTV’s Marty Beckerman following a drivers’ meeting at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway a month prior in front of a NASCAR official.
Beckerman told MTV news that Clements used ‘a phrase that used the N-word’ in a conversation about driving and not in reference to another driver.
Clements missed two Xfinity Series races and was reinstated by NASCAR two weeks later after completing a sensitivity class which cost $2,500.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
