NASCAR driver Brandon Brown — he of the “Let’s Go Brandon” fame — has secured sponsorship from cryptocurrency meme coin LGB.coin.io for his 2022 Xfinity Series ride.
However, there’s one problem — NASCAR has yet to approve it.
Yep, first news post of 2022 and we’re writing about “let’s go Brandon” and cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. This is the world we live in.
The LGB meme plays off the catchphrase that has become popular in conservative political circles. The phrase got popular last year when fans chanted “f–k Joe Biden” during a post-race interview with Brown, and the reporter, mishearing the chant (or trying to clean up the language for live TV), said they were chanting “Let’s go Brandon”. The latter phrase is now code for the former.
Brown had been quiet about the attention, but he’s recently spoken with the New York Times about the situation, and he wrote an op-ed in Newsweek detailing his difficulties with finding sponsorship. He told the Times he’s a Republican but also has said he’s not particularly political or interested in leading a political movement. However, he also wrote this in Newsweek: “I’m also no longer going to be silent about the situation I find myself in, and why millions of Americans are chanting my name. I hear them, even if Washington does not.” He wrote that after pointing out the difficulties that the rising price of fuel and most consumer goods cause for the middle class.
Brown’s number 68 will be sponsored by LGBcoin for all 33 events in 2022.
Here’s what a press release from LGBcoin said: “We are thrilled to partner with Brandonbilt Motorsports and Brandon Brown for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season,” said James Koutoulas, LGBcoin HODLer and founder of Typhoon Capital Management. “Brandon is not only an incredibly talented driver, but also a thoughtful individual wise beyond his years. His commitment and singular focus on his profession is inspiring and his personal story is one that we can all be proud of — an American story of success and perseverance. Brandon is truly America’s Driver. We are proud to support Brandon this season, to help him continue his American dream. If we do our job right, when you think of us, and you hear, ‘Let’s Go Brandon,’ you’ll think and feel, ‘Let’s Go America.'”
However, NASCAR has not officially approved the sponsorship or the paint scheme, despite the team making the announcement on Dec. 30. NASCAR approves all sponsorships and paint schemes, and it has discouraged the use of the “let’s go Brandon” chant and says it will legally take down any merchandise that combines the phrase and official NASCAR branding.
The race team said it was told the sponsorship had been approved via an email on December 26. Spokesperson Mark Marcucci told Fox Business: “After the announcement went live on Thursday morning, NASCAR acknowledged to us late that afternoon that we had received approval but that they now needed to discuss this at a higher level.”
Whatever the case, LGBcoin is up over 50 percent since Thursday.
Welcome to 2022.
[Images: NASCAR]
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Although they have rejected race sponsorships and car livery designs in the past I’m unaware of NASCAR ever outright rejecting a vehicle sponsor (this might be something worth doing some journalism on).
My expectation is that NASCAR approves the sponsor and livery with the stipulation that the car and merchandise only ever says “LGBcoin”.
Trying to annoy half of the population would put a hard upper limit in NASCAR’s popularity, so they do have a clear business-case for rejecting politically divisive sponsors.
Do they want to grow, or double-down on their existing fanbase and actively repel people who don’t agree with the existing fan base’s politics?
This feels like a B-school case study. I don’t know which argument will carry the day.
If this was a marquee driver in the top series then I think NASCAR would have more concerns. This is more like AAA baseball, it’s a headache but I don’t think it’s at risk to “annoy half the population” either.
Like I said, I expect they’ll allow the sponsor and just make sure “Let’s Go Brandon” is never spelled out on the car or on a licensed apparel.
UPDATE: My guess was incorrect. NASCAR has *completely rejected* the LGBcoin sponsorship.
It’s also been implied that NASCAR is going to update its rule book to disallow any political sponsorships in the future.
I’ll be surprised if they allow it. Censorship goes hand in hand with wokeness. Twitter just permanently banned another Republican member of Congress for “Covid disinformation”. I’m sure any minute they will ban Sleepy Jo and Kamala since they both told the world not to trust the vaccine since it was developed under the Trump administration. They same vaccine they now say you must have or lose your job, freedom of travel, right to enter private property etc.
What Biden actually said is that he would take Trump’s word on the vaccine, but that he would take an actual doctor’s word on it. And that exactly what he did.
Biden was vaccinated on TV, and has been recommending that everyone else get vaccinated practically every time he speaks in public.
And yet it’s Republicans who distrust the vaccine. They think it contains microchips put there by Bill Gates. They talk about space lasers controlled by Jews.They trust a pillow guy who said that Trump should suspend Democracy and cancel the election.
And then they show their strength and courage by being too afraid to actually say “[email protected] Joe Biden”. Nope, they get all cute and they say “Let’s Go Brandon” instead. They’re adorable cowards. It’s a lot like when they cry about ‘free speech’ because they’re too afraid to spew the N-word. Guess what, Cons? You can say it all you want, you’re just too AFRAID of the consequences of being rejected as vile racists.
You guys need to grow a pair. If you want to be offensive and hateful, then be manly enough to accept that decent people will reject you. And there’s nothing in the Constitution that says they have to embrace rednecks.
Or you can continue crying about how hard it is for you to be bigots, and that we need to be more inclusive of your bigotry.
“popular in conservative political circles.”
Ahem, popular in ***mainstream*** circles. This man is absolutely hated by 70%+ of the US, Kamel-Toe probably moreso.
@kcflyer,
“…Sleepy Jo and Kamala since they both told the world not to trust the vaccine…”
Please provide a source.
were you living in a cave during the campaign?
I was not. Can you please provide a source for when Joe Biden told the world not to trust the COVID vaccine.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/us/politics/biden-trump-coronavirus-vaccine.html
here’s one from that beacon of truth, the ny times s/
It’s behind a paywall so I can’t read it. But the title is that Joe Biden warned of a rushed vaccine and said that Trump couldn’t be trusted. It does not say that the COVID vaccine cannot be trusted. Do you have any source?
He gave you one. You are splitting hairs.
He gave you one. You are splitting hairs.
Art, I looked it up further but I do not believe Biden said what kcflyer purported him to say. Biden appeared to have indicated that what shouldn’t be trusted is the exertion of political influence on the process of producing the vaccine. He indicated that Trump was doing that (up for debate but not a stretch). Biden also said he trusted science and vaccines. And that he didn’t trust Trump.
I would judge that kcflyer, knowingly or unknowingly, was not correct when he commented that Biden told the world not to trust the vaccine.
He said he was going to beat the virus. We have determined that is a lie.
@Art:
If the crash test dummies…whoops, I mean, the noble pro-freedom, anti-vax crowd would get with the program and get the damn shot already, we probably WOULD beat the virus. And ironically, we’d be beating it with the vaccines that these guys’ main MAGA man himself spearheaded. Can’t make that up.
But, hey, they’re sure doing a swell job of pwning Brandon. Too bad about the six-figure ICU bills a lot of these guys are running up, but if you wanna make an omelet, you gotta break a few eggs. Besides, it’s an absolute gold mine for the collection agencies.
Far as whether Biden opposed the vaccines or not, it’s about as relevant as Ronald Reagan starting life as a Democrat. Clearly the guy’s all in on them now, and that’s what matters.
Yeah, all his “I have a plan” talk left out that his plan totally relied 9n idiots doing the right thing. Knowing that, I’m not certain most voters would have called that an actual plan.
It is a common misconception that vaccines save lives. To some extent they do, but it is vaccine programs that save lives. Large amounts of the population need to vaccinated for prime effectiveness.
For those who live in fear that microchips are being put in the vaccines, couldn’t “they” get those same microchips into your body when you show up at the hospital and they hook you up to an IV?
@jjster6:
“It is a common misconception that vaccines save lives. To some extent they do…”
If they save lives “to some extent,” then they save lives; the only question is how many they save. You’re really parsing here.
@ 28-Cars-Later
“This man is absolutely hated by 70%+…”
Please provide a source.
Reality.
done doing your homework for you. just google Biden doubts trump vaccine. Even the liberal rags covered it.
He’s underwater roughly 52-42 per the RCP average with some of the intividual polls having him pushing 60 percent disapproval and only one of 10 with him viewed as more favorably.
70 percent? No. Healthy numbers with a midterm on the horizon? Also no. Bottom Line, a majority of the country does not see him as doing a good job.
Art, I asked for a source showing 70%+ of the country hated him. Then you gave me a source showing something different.
Is it an issue if I don’t automatically believe whatever kcflyer or 28-cars-later says? They posted two things here that are not supported by the facts. Have I done something wrong?
Forget this clown. He is being pedantic and using appeals to authority in bad faith. You could tell him the sky was blue and he wouldn’t accept it until you provide him a internet article (because those are infallible) that he would then proceed to argue with. It’s a tactic designed to distract and stall the conversation to a halt.
Khory, are you calling me a clown? Is it pedantic when “facts” aren’t the actual facts? How am I to trust your arguments or believe you have the answers when the “facts” being presented are only misrepresentations of what happened.
I haven’t argued anything with anyone… I have simply asked them to support their position. And when they provide support that doesn’t support what they said it becomes an appeal to authority in bad faith and an internet article.
How can you have it both ways. So there is no support for what has been said (Joe Biden said don’t trust vaccines and he is hated by 70%+ of the population) or the support that has been provided (which doesn’t support what was originally said) is garbage? Which is it?
@jjster:
Lifelong Democrat here. Voted for Biden. His poll numbers suck right now. I report, you decide.
Much more underwater than that, but if one has learned nothing in the past two years its that data of anything which becomes political is most definitely skewed and probably unreliable. 1984 is now.
Data is data. Its collection can be unreliable, invalid, or both. Most of the data I see is both reliable and valid (data reliability and validity have very specific meanings). It is often the analysis of the data that is flawed.
For example, inferring that a 60% disapproval rating is the same as 70%+ of the country hating the president. Those are not the same things.
What Biden said on vaccines has been accurately recorded. Commenters on this site have either knowingly or unknowingly misrepresented what he said.
How can anyone make effective arguments and complain that they are not believed when they begin those arguments with a blatant misrepresentation?
I just gave you data. You can split hairs over percentages with the O.P. all day. A majority thinks he is doing a poor job.
@ FreedMike, no argument that Biden’s poll numbers suck. But I don’t believe they translate into 70%+ of the country hates the guy. If they did, then 90%+ hate Trump as he had even lower poll number for most of his presidency. Can’t compare averages yet… Biden hasn’t finished 4 years. It could be lower but I doubt it.
You believe what you like but that’s reality. There are eight “Let’s Go Brandon” stores in New England with plans to expand into ten. I don’t know how well those new stores will go over with the Massholes but the fact there are even business plans to try there is astounding.
“Business is booming for a Let’s Go Brandon store chain selling anti-President Biden merchandise across New England.
Owner Keith Lambert told FOX Business he plans to expand his business into Salisbury and Cape Cod, Massachusetts – increasing his locations from eight to 10 to keep up with the demand during the Biden presidency.”
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/lets-go-brandon-store-new-england-business
“If they did, then 90%+ hate Trump as he had even lower poll number for most of his presidency.”
Oh and on that, the man who was able to pack stadiums was never hated by 90% of the nation, likely about 50% at times and without total propaganda control would have been much less. I don’t know if his poll numbers were ever close to accurate but if Brandon’s are accurate than Trumps were wildly inaccurate *in his favor*. This so called administration is the worst in fifty years, Bush was more coherent for frack’s sake, and the reason the junta has gone underground of late is because *they* have the real data and its much worse than they will ever admit.
Dog help you if you believe State Media because it does nothing but lie and this has certainly accelerated from 2016 to now. These days its actually easier now to know the truth because anything remotely controversial or political they claim is skewed toward or an outright lie.
Take the red pill:
https://www.quora.com/Did-CIA-Director-William-Casey-really-say-Well-know-our-disinformation-program-is-complete-when-everything-the-American-public-believes-is-false
NASCAR would be much more awesomer if they used 3-cylinder turbo engines.
(Possibly related: Does 72°F on 12/31 and 4 inches of snow two days later count as Climate Change?)
I’m waiting for the first pro-gun-control cryptocurrency to hire a NASCAR driver. He and Brandon can duke it out, “Days of Thunder” style. If it ain’t rubbin’, it ain’t racin’.
Seriously, I bet the guys who are all pumped about this sponsorship are the same ones who crapped themselves over other sports stars “making sports all about politics”. Then again, Brandon doesn’t have a ‘fro that’s roughly the same diameter as Venus.
NASCAR can interpret LGB as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexial if it makes them happy. And in all my due respect or rather lack of it – who in the world cares of or watches NASCAR? This name is as archaic as Cadillac DeVille.
It’s interesting how right-wing rednecks supposedly shun the Democrats, but so many of them publicly declare out loud their wish to sleep with the President.