NASCAR: Bubba Wallace responds to Kyle Larson

Former Chip Ganassi Racing NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson penned an essay about his mistake, and Bubba Wallace responded.

Kyle Larson, the former driver of the #42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series team, penned a 1,789-word essay regarding his experience over the last few months and published it on his website over the weekend.

After using a racial slur while competing in a virtual NASCAR race on iRacing back in April during what ended up being a 10-week hiatus in live Cup Series action caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Larson lost multiple sponsors.

That ultimately forced Chip Ganassi’s hand.

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Larson had initially only been suspended by both NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing, but Ganassi was effectively forced to fire him. 2003 champion Matt Kenseth replaced him behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2020 season once action resumed in mid-May at Darlington Raceway with the 36-race season’s fifth race.

Larson’s post, titled “Kyle Larson: My Lessons Learned”, delves into what he has done to make himself a better person over the last few months since he used the N-word on what he did not know was a public channel, one which could be heard via multiple Twitch live streams.

Bubba Wallace, the lone African-American driver at the top level of NASCAR competition, read the 28-year-old Elk Grove, California native’s heartfelt post, and he responded to it.

Wallace, who was supportive of Larson getting a second chance all the way back in April shortly after the mistake was made and has even been at the center of his own race-related controversy since then, had this to say in a short tweet.

Larson’s essay comes amid mounting speculation that he will be back in a Cup car next year. He has admitted that he wants to be back as soon as possible, and several landing spots have been floated as possibilities, most notably Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.

The six-time race winner sat in a seventh place tie in the championship standings through four races when he was fired. He had recorded three top 10 finishes, including a season-best fourth place result in his final start of the year at Phoenix Raceway before the pandemic forced the sport to halt live action.