NASCAR could red-flag Brown’s sponsorship deal

The NASCAR driver whose victory in a secondtier race last fall inadvertently spawned a coded vulgar insult of President Joe Biden unveiled a plan to compete next season in a car sponsored by a cryptocurrency that has been spun off the phrase.

But it appears Woodbridge, Va., native Brandon Brown, 28, who was little known before his Oct. 2 victory in an Xfinity Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, may have jumped the gun in publicizing photos of his No. 68, red-white-and-blue Chevrolet sponsored by LGBcoin, a near-valueless cryptocurrency inspired by the slogan “Let’s go Brandon!”

NASCAR must approve all racecars’ sponsors and paint schemes. According to a NASCAR employee familiar with the governing body’s deliberations, it has not yet approved the LGBcoin sponsorship.

On Sunday, a spokesman for Brown’s Fredericksburg, Va.-based team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, said the team had received written approval of the sponsorship from a NASCAR official on Dec. 26, adding that there was no intent to circumvent the process in publicizing the 33-race deal with the cryptocurrency meme coin LGBcoin.io for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

“We will continue to work with NASCAR and look forward to resolving this matter and clearing the air as soon as possible,” wrote Max Marcucci, who represents the team on behalf of the Washington-based crisis communications firm Levick, in an email.

A NASCAR official with direct knowledge of the matter reiterated that the governing body has not decided yet.