Credit One, McDonald's terminate Larson sponsorship

Two primary sponsors have dropped Kyle Larson following his use of a racial slur on a Twitch livestream.

Credit One Bank and McDonald’s both announced terminations of their relationships with Larson on Monday evening. Credit One Bank sponsored Larson in 18 NASCAR Cup Series races last season, while McDonald’s appeared on the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in 10 races during 2019. The two companies had split the first four races of this year.

“As stated earlier, Credit One Bank denounces the highly offensive language used by Kyle Larson during Sunday’s iRacing event,” read a statement from Credit One Bank. “In addition to the quick actions taken by NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing, Credit One Bank is terminating its sponsorship of Kyle Larson.”

Earlier today, Credit One Bank stated it supported the decisions made by both NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing to indefinitely suspend Larson. In addition to being suspended, Larson will have to complete sensitivity training and is not being paid by Ganassi.

Credit One Bank was announced as the “Official Credit Card of NASCAR” in April 2016 ahead of its NASCAR Cup Series debut as a primary sponsor for Chip Ganassi Racing. The company began appearing on Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet in 2017 with an 11-race primary sponsorship. Following the departure of Target, the number of races for Credit One Bank increased to 18 events in both 2018 and ’19.

McDonald’s has been a partner of Ganassi for nearly a decade, first appearing on Larson’s car in 2018 with a two-race primary sponsorship.

“We were extremely disappointed and appalled to hear about this incident,” read a statement from McDonald’s USA. “The comments made by Kyle Larson are insensitive, offensive and not reflective of our inclusive values and will not be tolerated. McDonald’s is taking immediate action to terminate the relationship with Larson.”

Both companies will remain a partner of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Fiserv, Inc. has also ended its association with Larson late on Monday. Through the First Data and Clover brands, the company had been a primary sponsor on the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driven by Larson in eight races last season and four races in 2018.

"We denounce the language used during Sunday's iRacing event," said the company in a statement. "We support the actions taken by NASCAR and the Chip Ganassi Racing Team, and are terminating our sponsorship of Kyle Larson."

This story has been updated to clarify that both Credit One and McDonald's will continue as partners to CGR, and to include the Fiserv, Inc statement.