NASCAR's Kyle Larson Used the N-Word During a Virtual Race [UPDATE]

A Twitch livestream aired NASCAR driver Kyle Larson using the N-word during a virtual race on Sunday night, shocking his competitors. Larson appeared to believe he'd lost connection with his spotter via his headset when he used the slur.

"You can't hear me?" Larson said. "Hey, n-----." 

The chat immediately reacted in disbelief with one person saying, "Hey Kyle, you're talking to everyone, bud."

Larson is in his seventh NASCAR season with Chip Ganassi Racing. He is the only racer of Japanese descent to ever win at his level and he rose to the big leagues through its Drive To Diversity program.

Neither the driver, team, or affiliated sponsors have commented on the matter yet, though surely that will change as the story gains traction this morning.

It's the second straight week an iRacing event has featured some controversy. On a much less serious level Bubba Wallace rage-quit last Sunday after being wrecked by Clint Bowyer, a move that ultimately resulted in the loss of a sponsor.

UPDATE: NASCAR has released the following statement concerning Larson's situation.

UPDATE 2: NASCAR has suspended Larson indefinitely.