"Apologizing for your mistakes matters" - When Kyle Larson reflected on lessons learned after NASCAR suspension and team expulsion

Kyle Larson's NASCAR Cup Series career was on hold in 2020 after he was indefinitely suspended from the sport and terminated from Chip Ganassi Racing, a team he drove for since 2014. The eventual 2021 champion was suspended from competition for using a racial slur on iRacing, the subscription-based online racing game that many drivers play.

NASCAR reinstated the California native towards the end of the 2020 season but he did not return to competition that year. However, he signed with Hendrick Motorsports before the 2021 season and has since won a championship and 23 races.

While it was a low point in his career, Larson believes he emerged a better person. His first interview since being reinstated was in October of 2020 with retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download. The former driver of the #42 CGR Chevrolet believed he learned a lot following his suspension and never realized how impactful words were before his suspension.

"What I've learned a lot, obviously, is that words matter," Kyle Larson said. "Stuff that you learn a lot when you're growing up. Now, been a good reminder that words matter and accountability matters. Apologizing for your mistakes matters, treating other people with respect matters." (2:38 onwards)

Larson went on to say he visited Minneapolis, Minnesota sometime after the tragic killing of George Floyd, which sparked a nationwide outrage over racial divide and police brutality.

"That was really eye-opening to me and very impactful because we walked around where it all happened," Kyle Larson said. "Just seeing people, a lot of White people, taking people, putting their arms around them, holding their hands and hugging, it was, like I said, eye-opening and impactful."

In his first season at HMS the following year, Larson tallied a season-high 10 race wins en route to his first career championship. He was the first driver since Kevin Harvick in 2014 to win a title in his first season with a new team.

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Kyle Larson finished sixth in the final standings in 2024

Despite winning a season-high six races, Kyle Larson failed to advance to the Championship 4 in 2024 and wound up finishing sixth in the final Cup Series points standings. The #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet's driver registered 15 top-five finishes and a 12.9 average finish.

Larson won the fifth race of his 2024 campaign at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 32-year-old also posted wins at Kansas, Sonoma, Indianapolis, Bristol, and the Charlotte Roval.

Larson has made Championship 4 appearances in 2021 and 2023. While he won the title in his first title race appearance in 2021, Larson couldn't outrun Ryan Blaney in 2023, who went on to win his first championship.