Newsmaker of the Week // Kyle Larson

An innocent night of iRacing fun among racing friends has turned upside down the racing career of Kyle Larson.

The NASCAR Cup, 410 Sprint and Midget star made an obscene racial utterance picked up over a live microphone that was then overheard far and wide.

Within 24 hours, Larson had apologized, then lost his support from his Cup team owner Chip Ganassi, from NASCAR itself which suspended him, and from Chevrolet, which backs his 410 Sprint Car program in addition to his Ganassi Cup deal. Other sponsors may yet weigh in and further punish Larson.

For want of one hateful, imprudent comment, Kyle Larson’s racing career is in jeopardy and the sensibilities of the entire sport have been tarnished.