Driver Behind ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ And New Sponsor Defy Nascar Officials

NASCAR again found itself in the mainstream news media this week and it had little to do with racing on the track.

It started when driver Brandon Brown, the same one behind the “Let’s Go Brandon” chant that turned into a political controversy last year, announced a new sponsor.

The controversy began last October when Brown scored his first ever win in NASCAR that coming at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. As an NBC reporter began to interview the winning driver at the line, close to the grandstands, a group of fans began to chant. Though it was clear on the broadcast what the small group of people were chanting, a phrase that included an expletive directed at U.S. President Joe Biden, the TV reporter, Kelly Stavast tried to cover it up by interpreting what was being shouted: “As you can hear, the chants from the crowd — ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’”

Soon after the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” was heard being used by conservatives, both everyday people and politicians to disparage Biden. For his part, Brown remained silent. The only acknowledgment from NASCAR came in November during the state of the sport address from NASCAR President Steve Phelps who seemed intent on distancing the sport from the chant.

“I feel for Brandon,” Phelps said. “I think unfortunately it speaks to the state of where we are as a country. We do not want to associate ourselves with politics, the left or the right. We obviously have and we’ve always had, as a sport, tremendous respect for the office of the president no matter who is sitting.

“I think it’s an unfortunate situation. 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.”

MORE FROM FORBESNascar Driver Behind ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Hoping To Turn The Narrative AroundBy Greg Engle

Brown broke his silence in December giving an interview to the New York Times
NYT
admitting that his lack of a response had been hurting potential sponsors, since he wasn’t able to capitalize on his win.

“But with this meme going viral, it was more of, I had to stay more silent, because everybody wanted it to go on to the political side. I’m about the racing side,” he said.

Brown also penned an opinion piece for Newsweek saying he wasn’t interested in politics and that he hoped to put a positive spin on his viral fame.

“I dedicate myself this upcoming season to compete hard on the racetrack and to spotlight issues that are important to me and to millions of Americans across the country,” he wrote. “Let’s Go America.”

A few days later Brown announced that he and the team had signed a new sponsor: a crypto coin “LGBcoin_io” and the car would be wrapped in a red, white, and blue livery for the upcoming season. There was little doubt of course what the “LGB” stood for.

Shortly after the announcement however, NASCAR said they had never approved the sponsor, or the associated paint scheme on the car which prominently displayed “LGB.”

It wasn’t long before social media lit up with fans complaining about the denial, pointing out that NASCAR allowed a car to run a “Trump 2020” livery in a Xfinity series race in 2019. And during the social unrest that occurred across America in the wake of the death of a Black man in 2020, driver Bubba Wallace, currently the Cup series lone Black driver, raced a car that sported “Black Lives Matter.”

James Koutoulas, the main investor behind the LGBcoin, said on social media that the sponsorship and paint scheme had gone through the NASCAR approval process and had been signed off by NASCAR official Dale Howell. “The revocation of the sponsorship approval is in violation of @nascar’s own rule book and appears to have come from pressure from another entity. @NBCNews perhaps? Or the Biden admin?” he tweeted.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis was among those who blasted NASCAR for rejecting the sponsorship.

“I’m very much in favor of letting people speak their mind however they want to do it,” said DeSantis at a press conference. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with LGBCoin. First of all, it wasn’t Brandon’s fault that any of this happened. If you remember what happened, he was being interviewed at a NASCAR race. There were fans in the crowd who were chanting very colorful language about Biden.”

“It was obvious that’s what was happening,” DeSantis added. “Then the reporter, and I don’t know why, ran interference on that and said they’re chanting ‘Let’s Go Brandon,’ isn’t that great. That’s why it took off, because people are looking at it and saying, ‘You’re gaslighting us again, and we’re sick of it.’”

NASCAR’s rulebook doesn’t seem to offer any clear answers appearing open to much interpretation when it comes to sponsorships; in fact it’s somewhat ambiguous:

“NASCAR may refuse to permit a Competitor to participate in an Event if NASCAR determines that any advertising, sponsorship, or similar agreement to which the Competitor is or will be a party, is detrimental to the sport, to NASCAR, Series Sponsor, or to the Promoter for any reason, including without limitation, the public image of the sport,” it reads adding: “Decals, advertising slogans, paint schemes, and other graphic designs and text on the vehicle that have not been previously approved by NASCAR must not be used unless and until they have been submitted by the crew chief to NASCAR headquarters and approved by NASCAR prior to the event. The review and approval of decals, advertising slogans, paint schemes and other graphic designs and text on the vehicle that have not been previously approved by NASCAR is at the sole discretion of NASCAR and such approval may be withheld for any reason. All NASCAR members agree to accept NASCAR’s decision in this regard.”

Sponsorship in NASCAR has never been an all or nothing affair. In the past NASCAR officials have refused sponsorships: In 2007 it banned cellphone provider AT&T’s sponsorship for Richard Childress Racing’s team during a time when Sprint, another cellphone sponsor, was the Cup series title sponsor. And for many years NASCAR refused liquor and casino sponsors. And in 2019 they denied advertisements for K-Var Corp., a large distributor of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories, a move which drew a rebuke from the NRA who called NASCAR “anti-gun.” For the record, the NRA has sponsored NASCAR races at least two tracks since 2013.

Whether Brown and LGBcoin pulled the trigger too soon and announced the sponsorship before NASCAR approved it, or whether senior NASCAR executives cancelled the deal after it had been approved by lower management, may never be known. NASCAR hasn’t issued any comment on the controversy. However, according to at least one report, they are studying banning any sort of political sponsorship, and could be rewriting the rules to be much less ambiguous.

In his remarks on Twitter Koutoulas also threatened to sue NASCAR over the denial. AT&T tried the same in 2007; NASCAR filed a countersuit, and AT&T announced they would extend the deal for three more years. The two eventually reached a settlement that saw NASCAR drop its suit, and AT&T pull their sponsorship from the team at the end of the 2008 season.

For now, instead of legal action, Brown’s sponsor is reacting in a different way. On Saturday Brown and LGBCoin.io announced an extension of the sponsorship and a personal services contract. In fact, they said they are now “doubling down” on the sponsorship.

In a press release the company said: “The partnership between Brandon Brown and the pro-America crypto coin will include personal participation in publicity events, videos, crypto conferences, racing-related events and more, though won’t include car decals.”

That seems to indicate that fans won’t be seeing an LGBcoin themed car racing on the track, at least any time soon. However, with little oversite by NASCAR when it comes to personal services contracts, Brandon Brown may have just found a way to take advantage of his viral fame while seeming to thumb his nose at NASCAR. And this latest sponsor controversy may cause NASCAR to ban all political type sponsorships moving forward, and perhaps clarify the rules that the sport’s sponsors must abide by.