NASCAR reinstates driver Kyle Larson after suspension for racial slur

Driver Kyle Larson will be allowed back behind the wheel, NASCAR announced Monday, just six months after he used the N-word during a virtual race.

Larson was suspended indefinitely in April after the viral incident, but applied for reinstatement Friday and was approved Monday.

“NASCAR continues to prioritize diversity and inclusion across our sport,” the sanctioning body said in an official statement.

“Kyle Larson has fulfilled the requirements set by NASCAR, and has taken several voluntary measures, to better educate himself so that he can use his platform to help bridge the divide in our country. Larson’s indefinite suspension has been lifted. Under the terms of his reinstatement, he will be cleared to return to all NASCAR racing activities effective January 1, 2021.”

Kyle Larson was formally reinstated Monday. (Terry Renna/)

Larson said in a public essay earlier this month that he had hired a diversity coach and met with Black athletes to discussion his and their situations.

“After I said the N-word, anger came at me from all angles. Being labeled a racist has hurt the most, but I brought that on myself. What I didn’t expect, though, were all the people who, despite their disappointment in what I did, made the choice to not give up on me. It motivates me to repay their faith by working harder, not giving up on myself, and making sure something positive comes from the harm I caused,” he wrote on his website.

“For far too long, I was a part of a problem that’s much larger than me. I fully admit that losing my job and being publicly humiliated was how I came to understand this. But in the aftermath, I realized that my young kids will one day be old enough to learn about what their daddy said. I can’t go back and change it, but I can control what happens from here on out.”

NASCAR has signed Larson up for “several” speaking engagements to “share his experiences.”

Larson initially claimed he thought he was on a private channel when he used the racial slur instead of broadcasting to everyone watching and said in his October essay that the disappointment of his parents, including his Japanese mother, “really affected” him.