NASCAR: The last time Kyle Larson didn’t drive the #42 car

The last time Kyle Larson didn’t drive the #42 Chevrolet in a NASCAR Cup Series race, it was driven by world-renowned racer Juan Pablo Montoya.

A few days ago, Kyle Larson was one of the longest tenured drivers with his current NASCAR Cup Series team, and he was the fourth longest tenured driver among those who had only ever competed full-time for one organization.

He trailed only Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski in that capacity.

Now he is out of a ride, and to say that his future is unclear would be a massive understatement.

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After saying the N-word during a virtual NASCAR iRacing race that was being live streamed on Twitch last Sunday evening, one thing led to another and ultimately resulted in the now former Chip Ganassi Racing driver being fired from his role as the driver of the #42 Chevrolet.

Chip Ganassi Racing have not yet named a replacement for Larson behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet, and there doesn’t seem to be a huge sense of urgency given the fact that the season is currently suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic and has not been in action for over a month. Ross Chastain has been discussed as the most likely candidate, but nothing has been confirmed.

Regardless of who the team name to replace the 27-year-old Elk Grove, California native, this is the first time since Larson will not be the full-time driver of the #42 Chevrolet since the 2013 season when Juan Pablo Montoya was still competing for the team.

The only race that Larson missed during his tenure of six-plus seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing was at Martinsville Speedway back in March of 2015, when he did not compete after fainting the day before the race. It was Regan Smith who replaced Larson behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet in this race and placed 16th.

The last full-time driver of the #42 Chevrolet other than Larson, like Larson so far, drove full-time for Chip Ganassi’s team and only Ganassi’s team during his Cup Series career. But when Montoya last drove the car, it was for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

Montoya made his Cup Series debut for Chip Ganassi Racing behind the wheel of the #30 Dodge in the 2006 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway after spending two seasons in CART and five-plus seasons in Formula 1. In 2007 and 2008, he drove the #42 Dodge on a full-time basis.

In 2009, Chip Ganassi Racing became Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and switched to Chevrolet. Montoya drove the #42 Chevrolet for five seasons, winning the 2010 race at Watkins Glen International during his stint with the team.

Not since Chip Ganassi Racing were still known as Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has the #42 Chevrolet been driven by somebody other than Kyle Larson in the NASCAR Cup Series, excluding the one race he missed back in the 2015 season. But with Larson fired, that is set to change.