NASCAR Pariah Kyle Larson Returns to Racing in Friday's World of Outlaws Sprint Car Event

Within days of dropping the n-word during an April sim race, Kyle Larson found himself without sponsors and without a ride for NASCAR's return to the racetrack on May 17. The Californian's motorsports career, however, is set to resume as he will actually beat his former competitors back to the track by taking his seat in World of Outlaws this Friday night.

WoO will host its first post-lockdown race of 2020 at the storied Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. Like NASCAR and Formula 1, the risk posed to public health by a large gathering means there will be no spectators, and the race will instead be broadcast via pay-per-view.

While Larson owns an Outlaws sprint car team and will still field the No. 2 KLR entry for driver Carson Mecado, he is set to strap into the No. 57 Silva Motorsports machine this weekend. Paul Silva works as general manager of Kyle Larson Racing and has had a long-standing relationship with the 27-year-old.

Larson issued an apology via Twitter for the language that brought his NASCAR career to a crashing halt; it remains his most recent social media activity. Additionally, he has since talked with the NASCAR Cup Series' lone African-American driver, Bubba Wallace, who says that Larson deserves a "second chance," as well as "space to improve." 

Prior to being cleared for WoO competition, Larson completed the series' required sensitivity training. He has also finished NASCAR's mandated program, though he remains suspended indefinitely.

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