NASCAR doesn't need Kyle Larson

 NASCAR doesn’t need Kyle Larson

By Brian Cotnoir

Back in April during an iRacing event (former) NASCAR driver Kyle Larson blurted out the N-word over the broadcast in a 24 hour span he lost all of his major sponsors, his ride at Chip Ganassi Racing, and was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.  Larson became a pariah of the sport, and although he had some fan support, he has yet to find a way back into NASCAR.                                                                                          

Upon Larson’s utterance of the racial slur, he issued a short video apology via his social media account before completing sensitivity training, as he was ordered to do so by both NASCAR and the World of Outlaws racing series, and has low-key been participating in projects and community service events to atone for his mistakes with little-to-no media exposure.  I’ve recently heard people, from NASCAR owner & former champion Tony Stewart to popular NASCAR YouTube personalities and fans say that Kyle Larson deserves a second chance and should be allowed to race again in NASCAR.  While I don’t deny that he has the talent to return to NASCAR, I feel it would be in NASCAR’s best interest to continue to distance themselves from Kyle Larson.        

 I’ve been a fan of NASCAR my entire life, but outside of my family I only have one friend who follows the sport. When I was in college, I used to invite my friends over to watch NASCAR races with me to which, I’d have to hear the inevitable “It’s so boring” and “No way, NASCAR’s so racist”.   When Kyle Larson used that word during the iRacing event he pretty much affirmed that stereotypical Racist NASCAR fan character arch.   

You can imagine my surprise over the next few months when I saw NASCAR drivers and the organization speak in support of Black Lives Matter, banning the Confederate flag from all races, and rallying behind the sports only black driver, Bubba Wallace.  I felt a wave of pride and hope that NASCAR could be saved as I saw waves of racist fans on social media say they would never watch NASCAR again.    If NASCAR were to allow Kyle Larson back less than a year after his initial suspension, then they would be setting themselves up for a P.R. nightmare.   To allow Kyle Larson back into the sport now would be a highly hypocritical decision and could do more damage than good.                   

I believe Kyle Larson is truly remorseful for his actions, but I also believe that his heart isn’t in NASCAR.  Even before his suspension I believed his real true racing passion came from dirt tracks and sprint cars.  He even said himself that winning the Chili Bowl would mean to him then winning the Daytona 500.  I think what Kyle Larson really misses are those big NASCAR paychecks.  He went from having sponsorship with Target, McDonalds, and Credit One to handful of local companies.   Last year he won over one million dollars for winning the All-Star race, and now he’s competing for a twenty-thousand dollar purse for winning Outlaw races. 

  NASCAR has a stable full of young marketable drivers they can promote like Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and John Hunter Nemecheck.  Why waste time and money to bring back Larson?                  

I think NASCAR needs at least 2-3 full seasons without Kyle Larson before they even begin to consider bringing him back to NASCAR.  I don’t recall swarms of people showing support for Shane Hmiel, Jeremy Mayfield, or A.J. Allmendinger when they got suspended.   I think NASCAR will be just fine without Kyle Larson for the foreseeable future.