NASCAR will not allow Xfinity Series driver Brandon Brown’s sponsor LGBcoin.io, whose name is a reference to the phrase, "Let’s go, Brandon," to appear on his number 68 car, CNN reports.
Although Brown announced the sponsorship deal with the cryptocurrency meme coin last Thursday, NASCAR has rejected the proposal and notified the team of its decision on Tuesday. CNN asked both NASCAR and Brandonbilt Motorsports for comment but did not receive one from either by the time of publishing.
A spokesperson for Brown’s team told the network on Sunday that they had received written approval for the sponsorship from NASCAR through the typical process. He later said that NASCAR called to "apologized for any confusion and miscommunication" and told him that the agreement "needs to be reviewed at a higher level."
The slogan originated when NBC Sports reporter Kelly Stavast misattributed a crowd chant in October yelling ''F**k Joe Biden'' as cheering on Brown with ''Let's go, Brandon.''
Brandonbilt Motorsports said in a statement to CNN on Sunday: "We are very aware and appreciative of the process required to approve sponsors and paint schemes and would not attempt to circumvent that process.
"Brandonbilt Motorsports submitted our most recent sponsors and paint scheme to NASCAR, following the standard approval process that we have undertaken many times before without issue. We received written approval on the sponsors from a NASCAR Racing Operations official on December 26, 2021. The team subsequently moved forward with an announcement only after being provided with this approval.
"The sponsor approval was unambiguous — the first four words of the email from NASCAR state, 'The sponsors are approved ...' The only feedback offered was related to minor graphic design changes to ensure legibility on the track at 170 mph."
According to The Washington Post, the announcement by the team was made prematurely after a NASCAR employee who was not authorized to approve the deal signed off on it over the Christmas holidays. NASCAR executives only reviewed the sponsorship agreement on Tuesday and informed the team of their decision that same day.
The Post also notes that according to an official, "NASCAR made clear during a November discussion about the potential sponsorship that it would not allow any reference or imagery based on the chant. NASCAR's formal decision was not a reversal, the official made clear, but the governing body's first and final word on the matter."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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