NASCAR could red-flag driver’s sponsorship deal

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

But it appears that Woodbridge, Virginia, native Brandon Brown, 28, who was little known before his Oct. 2 victory in an Xfinity Series race at Talladega 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 cars’ sponsors and paint schemes. According to a NASCAR employee familiar with the governing body’s deliberations, it has not yet approved the LGBcoin sponsorship.

Based on previous comments by NASCAR President Steve Phelps, who has led efforts to make stock-car racing more inclusive, the racing body could be hesitant to grant a green light to the divisive message, however

coded.

Phelps, who was asked during his season-ending news conference how he felt about NASCAR being associated with the “Let’s go, Brandon!” chant, called it “unfortunate.”

“We do not want to associate ourselves with politics, the left or the right,” Phelps said. “We obviously have, and we’ve always had, as a sport tremendous respect for the office of the president, no matter who is sitting.

“... Do we like the fact that it kind of started with NASCAR and then is gaining ground elsewhere? No, we’re not happy about that. But we will continue to make sure that we have respect for the office of the president.”

Phelps added that NASCAR would block any instance in which the phrase was used in conjunction with NASCAR’s logo or trademarks.

It’s unclear if Brown realized that NASCAR must approve sponsorships before his Fredericksburg, Virginia-based

team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, announced Thursday its 33-race deal with the cryptocurrency meme coin LGBcoin.io for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Neither he nor a team spokesman responded to a request for comment.

The news release makes no mention of Biden and characterizes the product, which a disclaimer makes clear has “no intrinsic value” and should not be bought with any intention of resale, as “America’s Coin” that “aims to inspire positivity and unity, grounded in a strong belief of the American dream.”

The story of how Brown’s name came to be appropriated as a euphemism for “(Expletive) Joe Biden” requires explanation.

After Brown’s first career victory, at Talladega, the crowd erupted in chants of “(Expletive) Joe Biden,” which an NBC Sports reporter conducting the trackside interview apparently heard as “Let’s go, Brandon!” She announced on-air that the crowd was voicing its support for the driver.

The phrase quickly caught on as a coded message of animus toward Biden that was chanted en masse at several sporting events and rallies.

Brandon Brown’s sponsor is a cryptocurrency connected to an insult.