Another NASCAR driver gets in trouble for idiotic behavior in esports

Over the past weekend, another NASCAR racing driver has learned that acting like a 12-year-old moron in an online video game does in fact have real-world consequences. Kyle Larson—an early graduate of NASCAR's "Drive for Diversity" program thanks to his half-Japanese ancestry—was competing in the series' new Pro Invitational iRacing series on Sunday night when he used the N-word while talking to his spotter.

In the two days that have followed, Larson has been suspended without pay by his race team and has been benched indefinitely by NASCAR. He has also lost most of his major sponsors. This follows an incident a week ago when NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace lost a sponsor after rage-quitting a race.

During this weekend's esports race, Larson lost communications with his spotter (who acts as a second pair of eyes). "You can't hear me?" Larson asked, followed by the racist remark. Larson may not have realized that his audio feed was being broadcast to the entire livestream, although several other stunned drivers pointed this out to him quickly.

"NASCAR has made diversity and inclusion a priority and will not tolerate the type of language used by Kyle Larson during Sunday’s iRacing event. Our Member Conduct Guidelines are clear in this regard, and we will enforce these guidelines to maintain an inclusive environment for our entire industry and fan base," the sport said in a press release issued on Monday.

A clearly contrite Larson issued a video apology on Twitter, saying that he "understands that the damage is probably unrepairable, and I own up to that."

pic.twitter.com/RPsp7ARIea

— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) April 13, 2020

Of all the major spectator sports, auto racing has had perhaps the easiest time adjusting to the near-total bans on public mass gatherings. The skills you need to be quick in a racing sim are mostly the same skills you need to be quick in a real race car, after all. And plenty of professional real-world racing drivers were playing racing sims before the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are also some basic skills from the world of video games that drivers like Larson and Bubba Wallace are learning the hard way—acting like a 12-year old pubbie is unacceptable, even in a sport that has a core demographic that refuses to stop bringing Confederate flags to races.

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