Although Kyle Larson now stands among the strongest drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, his rise to the top was far from a smooth ride. Before winning his first Cup championship in 2021, Larson hit rock bottom.
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At one point, he did not even have a seat in the series. His career took a sharp downturn when his own team suspended him for using a racial slur during an iRacing event in 2020, due to which both NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing suspended him without pay.
Until then, Larson had spent over six seasons driving the #42 Chevy car for Chip Ganassi Racing, securing five Cup race wins and finishing four seasons in the top ten. Despite the absence of a championship, he had built a solid reputation on the track with his strong performances.
However, after being sidelined in 2020, Larson returned to the Cup Series in 2021 with Hendrick Motorsports and turned the tables. He won ten races in one season, secured the regular season title, and capped it off with the Cup Series championship — all in his first year with the team.
Reflecting on his comeback during the 12 Questions segment with Jeff Gluck, Larson admitted that 2020 marked the most difficult chapter of his life.
He said, “Obviously, a lot happened in a quick time — (a position) that I put myself in. But it was trusting the people I had around me and trusting in the path we were trying to put ourselves on to get either back to the Cup Series or just in a good spot in life and racing.”
“It was staying committed to that and doing everything I felt like I wanted to do and needed to do, and ultimately got back to the Cup Series.”
Back in 2020, with four races into the season, Larson held seventh place in the driver standings. With global motorsports on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he took part in an online event called Monza Madness, organized by Landon Cassill.
While live-streaming on Twitch, Larson appeared to lose headset communication and said to his spotter, “You can’t hear me?” before following it with the N-word.
The incident triggered an immediate backlash within the racing community. Within a day, on April 12, 2020, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a statement suspending Larson, expressing disappointment over his language during the iRacing event and labeling it offensive and unacceptable. NASCAR followed suit shortly afterward by handing him an indefinite suspension.
After nearly six months out of the sport, NASCAR reinstated Larson in October 2020, contingent on completing sensitivity training as directed by the sanctioning body.
Toward the end of the same month, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Larson had signed a multi-year agreement to drive the #5 car, beginning with the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
