Stock car circuit blocks LGB cryptocurrency firm from sponsoring driver whose interview with NBC gave rise to anti-Biden chant
Racing driver Brandon Brown may again face a funding crisis after NASCAR reportedly shot down his deal with cryptocurrency company LGBcoin to sponsor a “Let’s Go Brandon”-themed car.
After initially approving the new car design and later placing it under review, NASCAR officials have made a final decision to ban the LGBcoin sponsorship, Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass reported on Tuesday night. The ruling means Brown will need to find a new lead sponsor with only about six weeks remaining before the NASCAR Xfinity Series season begins in Daytona Beach, Florida.
LGBcoin HODLer and investor advocate James Koutoulas has vowed to sue NASCAR after the decision wiped out much of the firm’s market value, saying, “Now it’s war.” He claimed that the racing circuit had approved the sponsorship with only some design modifications and argued that the reversal likely came from an outside entity, such as President Joe Biden’s administration.
Brown inadvertently inspired the LGB phenomenon when he was being interviewed by NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast after winning a race in September at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway. Fans in the background were heard chanting “F*ck Joe Biden,” but the reporter claimed that they were saying “Let’s Go Brandon.”
The latter phrase was quickly popularized as a profanity-free euphemism for “F*ck Joe Biden,” giving conservatives a way to simultaneously mock both the president and the mainstream press. Media outlets have tried to demonize the anti-Biden meme, such as when CNN political analyst likened it to rhetoric from ISIS or Nazi Germany.
For his part, Brown tried to distance himself from the controversy, saying in an interview last month that he had “no interest in leading some political fight.” He said he wouldn’t wade into telling people how to vote, adding, “No one knew how my sponsors would react, and in my world, there is no car to drive without the sponsors.”
Unfortunately for Brown, the reaction was negative. Despite being a rising NASCAR star, he said it became “extremely difficult” to attract sponsors because major corporations saw his unintentional association with the LGB meme to be divisive. Last week, his Brandonbilt Motorsports racing team announced its deal with LGBcoin.
Critics of NASCAR’s decision to kill the deal pointed out that the racing circuit hasn’t shied away from politically charged advertising in the past. Bubba Wallace, the black NASCAR star who was the subject of a fake “noose” scandal in 2020, has driven a Black Lives Matter-themed car.
