INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson had it all coming into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. He had started his own racing team for his dirt activities and was widely successful in doing so. Larson, had been trying for years to win the prestigious Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals and in his own USAC Midget, he finally did so back in January.

Mix that with finally getting back to victory lane during last year’s playoffs and making it further in the postseason in 2019 than he ever had before to go along with being a free agent at seasons end, well that was going to make him a very coveted free agent heading into this upcoming offseason.

Think about it, Larson is just now entering the peak of his career at a young 27 years of age. He’s a star on dirt. He’s a star in the making in NASCAR. The six-time Cup Series victor, including the All-Star race a year ago, is clean cut and marketable. He’s an owners dream. Scratch that, he was an owners dream.

With so many top rides available, as of now, for 2021, Larson was on top of the list for everyone to sign. Heading into this past weekend, McDonald’s, Credit One Bank, Clover, iRacing, Lucas Oil and Chevrolet were big backers for the California native.

Now, within the last 24 hours, all are gone. Everything Larson has built for his racing career has evaporated in the blink of one horrible comment made on Sunday night.

During an online race, yes and online video game race, Larson dropped a racial slur for everyone to hear. On Monday, he owned it. I applaud his maturity in that. His 42 second statement didn’t seem rehearsed or scripted — it seemed genuine.

Larson, isn’t a bad guy, not that I have been led to believe at least. From what I’ve seen of Larson and been around him, he seems like a stand up guy. Larson, is a hell of a racer, a good husband and father, a great son and seemed like a good human being. Then, all of what he built us to believe, well he added doubt now.

The word Larson used is one that came off of his tongue rather easily. There’s no situation that a word like that should have been used. That word has cost him everything now and rightfully so too.

Despite that, he did own it on Monday. He did it right in his video statement. Denying it or blaming a hacker or even someone else would have sounded extremely insensitive. We all know he said it and I applaud him for owning that part. It was clear it was him who said it and I appreciate him not hiding that it wasn’t. But, this isn’t going to be good for him finding future work in NASCAR at this moment though.

The signs are now there, it’s only a matter of time that Larson is going to be released from his ride at Chip Ganassi Racing. Credit One Bank (19 races), McDonald’s (10 races) and Clover (7 races) sponsored Larson in 2019 and was back in similar roles for 2020. Now, all three have told CGR that they will remain with them this season so long as Larson isn’t in the car.

Translation?

If the 42 is on track this season and Larson is behind the wheel, the car will be blank.

That’s a far cry from where he was coming into Easter Sunday. Larson, was tabbed as Jimmie Johnson’s replacement in the No. 48 Chevrolet for 2021 with Hendrick Motorsports. He’s been tabbed as Brad Keselowski’s replacement in the No. 2 Ford with Team Penske too. He’s also been tabbed at staying put with Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 42 Chevrolet as well.

Hendrick, Penske and Ganassi are some of the top teams in the sport. They have openings and now after these comments, it’s going to be a hard sell for Larson to be in any of those cars in 2021 now.

Ganassi, his current team has suspended him indefinitely without pay. NASCAR followed suit. The sponsors at every level are pretty much gone. I’ve only seen one that’s willing to stay around while the rest have either cut ties immediately or have suspended him indefinitely.

If Ganassi lets him go early, which is likely to happen, who signs him? It’s not going to be easy for HMS or Penske or anyone else for that nature to go to shareholders or boardrooms to sell Larson as the face of their organization and respective sponsor.

Jeremy Clements was suspended back in 2013 for saying a similar word as he missed two races as a result of that. His comments weren’t made in the public like Larson’s though and Clements drove for himself at the time too. He’s not raced for anyone else outside of his own team since either.

Realistically, Larson may not have a choice but to race for himself back on the dirt track ranks again, but finding a sponsor to back him, well that is going to be difficult there too. His sponsors for the dirt ranks are gone. The main sponsors on his Chili Bowl car?

Lucas Oil, iRacing, McDonald’s and Chevy. They’re all gone now.

So, the only hope is to rebuild an image that was once pristine. That’s easier than it sounds. He has a label now and that label, like it or not, is a racist. Again, I found his apology sincere and I do think he knows the magnitude on what he said and feels wrong about it, sponsors and the general public aren’t going to forget this. In the 21st Century where stories never die and the audio will never go away, how can you sign Larson when the backlash is going to be greater than the reward. After all, when a sponsor comes onboard for a team or driver, it’s to sell their products. Larson, isn’t a guy anymore to sell your products.

Image and reputation far outweighs skill in racing because the image and reputation brings money to teams and money goes farther than talent. Larson, isn’t going to have any corporate backing anymore and him finding new sponsors is going to take time and healing. Unfortunately, with so many younger drivers that are just as marketable and have far less baggage, Larson’s time in the higher ranks of racing may be done — at least his time with competitive teams. That’s a shame but a reality that he put himself in.