NASCAR driver Kyle Larson will miss Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series STP 500 after he fainted during an autograph session on Saturday.
Larson was at Martinsville (Va.) Memorial Hospital later in the day and checked out fine, but left to visit a neurologist at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Kyle Larson was evaluated & all tests came back negative. Larson feels completely fine, but doctors felt he should be held for more testing.
— CGR NASCAR Teams (@CGRnascar) March 29, 2015 Subsequently, Larson will be unable to race today in the #STP500 . Regan Smith will fill-in for Larson today in the No. 42 Target Chevy.
— CGR NASCAR Teams (@CGRnascar) March 29, 2015 Regan Smith will replace Larson, who was schedule to start seventh, in Sunday’s race. Smith is a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series and has 175 career Cup races, most recently filling in for Kurt Busch during his three-race suspension earlier this season.
"These situations aren't easy," Smith told media members on Sunday. "You're hopping in somebody else's car, somebody else's setup, somebody else's team and trying to plug yourself in as best you can and do as good as you can for that team and those guys. That said, you try to make the most of it."
Since Larson qualified, satisfying the rule that a driver must compete every weekend, he will be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
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UPDATE: Here's the word from Larson's Chip Ganassi Racing team, issued Sunday.
“After fainting yesterday at an autograph session in Martinsville, Virginia, Kyle Larson was first evaluated at a local hospital in Martinsville and ultimately evaluated at a Charlotte hospital.
“Although all tests came back negative and Larson feels completely fine, the doctors felt he should be held for more testing today. Subsequently, Larson will be unable to race today in the STP 500 in Martinsville.”