After claiming his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Talladega last fall, Brandon Brown found himself in an awkward situation following the birth of the "Let's Go Brandon" chant that drew the Virginia independent driver into the political arena. a development that he had recently regretted for damaging his career. Now, the saga continues off the track with the question of whether or not NASCAR will sign a possible full season of sponsorship for him.
On Thursday, Brandonbilt Motorsports announced that the cryptocurrency meme coin LGBcoin.io had signed up as the team's full-time title sponsor for the 2022 season. The team introduced Brown's new No. 68 Chevrolet LGBcoin, featuring a red paint scheme. , white and blue, with the phrase "Let's Go Brandon" on the car.
The Brandonbilt Motorsports announcement was reportedly premature. According to Josh Peter of USA Today, NASCAR informed Brandonbilt Motorsports following its announcement that it was still reviewing the sponsorship details and had not yet given its approval for the car's sponsorship.
This came despite claims by Brown's team that NASCAR had provided written approval for the car's paint scheme and sponsorship on the condition that the acronym LGB be used in place of Let's Go Brandon. Max Marcucci, a public relations strategist representing Brown and his racing team, maintained that the team was not "self-employed" and is not sure where the disconnect was.
"We put together the proposed car designs about a month ago before any of this happened because we thought (Brown) was obviously the best guy to do national sponsorship naturally," James Koutoulas, LGBcoin Principal Holder and Typhoon Founder Capital Management. he told USA Today. "So we had it ready to go and it's been a crazy week to get this all negotiated and done."
After claiming his first career win at the Xfinity fall race at Talladega, Brown went from underdog driver and surprise winner to dominant cultural figure when a anti-Joe Biden chant In his winner's interview, an NBC reporter mistook it for the chants from "Let's Go Brandon." The development proved problematic for Brown as it found that its marketability with sponsors was affected by guilt by association.
Brown stated in a Newsweek opinion piece who declined numerous requests from the media in the coming months, confessing that he was "afraid of being canceled by my sponsors, or by the media, for being caught up in something that has little to do with me."
"The unfortunate part is that what is at stake is my name and my career, and the risk is high. If I do something wrong in this arena, my name as a driver falls very fast," he added. Brown said Sports business journal. "Even in a NASCAR race, if I didn't do it as a driver, trying to get another job in the community, I'll always be the 'Let's Go Brandon' guy. I'll always be known for that and how I handled this situation."
Brown said NASCAR has also given him advice on how to deal with the issue, and the sanctioning body publicly distanced itself from the anti-Biden chant during NASCAR President Steve Phelps' year-end press conference in Phoenix.
"We don't want to associate with politics, the left or the right. Obviously we have and have always had as a sport tremendous respect for the office of the president no matter who is seated," Phelps said. "I think it's an unfortunate situation. Do we like the fact that it started with NASCAR and then it's gaining ground elsewhere? No, we're not happy about that. But we will continue to make sure that we have respect for the president's office."
2022 will mark Brown's fourth season of full-time driving for his family's team. After reaching the Xfinity Series playoffs in 2020, Brown posted personal records for the top five (three) and top ten (nine) along with his first win in 2021.
