NASCAR revokes approval of LGBcoin.io sponsorship for Brandon Brown; Sponsor threatens lawsuit

Lake Side Media/Brandonbilt Motorsports

    On Tuesday evening (1/4/21) NASCAR announced that they will be denying Brandonbilt Motorsports approval for their LGBcoin.io sponsorship. As sources have previously reported, Brandonbilt Motorsports did recieve approval from the sanctioning body for this sponsorship, only to now lose it as the association changed their mind. Recent developments now show photographic evidence of NASCAR’s approval, that has now been revoked.

LGBcoin, a crypto currency company, much like other “meme coins” such as Doge Coin and Shiba Inu, has been growing quickly since it’s inception only a few months ago. LGBcoin has achieved a market capitalization of more than $300 million in less than six months. The patriotic coin, dubbed “America’s Coin” aims to inspire positivity and unity, grounded in a strong belief of the American dream. Sponsorship from LGBcoin for the Brandon Brown’s No. 68 team would have been only the most recent of many cryptocurrency sponsorships in the sport. Now, for some complicated reasons, LGBcoin will not be allowed to provide sponsorship for Brandonbilt Motorsports.

Brandon Brown, a driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series finds himself battling this issue after a bittersweet day in October of 2021. As cautions and red flags plagued the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, darkness rolled in to the picture, bringing an early end to the day’s events. Talladega Superspeedway’s non-existent track lights became all the talk, and Brandon Brown began to celebrate his first NASCAR victory. Everything in the world was right for Brandon Brown. As Brown climbed out of his race car, race attendees in the stands cheered, but among the crowd began a chant. This chant used inappropriate terms to insult the United States President. As NBC television crews realized that vulgar terms were being broadcasted live to over the air, the reporter interviewing the Brandon Brown uttered the words “Let’s Go Brandon”, as she mis-reporter the chants from the grandstands.

From that day onward, as individuals disliked the actions of the United States President, many of them chose to jokingly use the words “Let’s Go Brandon” to to secretly make insults. Brandon Brown, an innocent victim of this situation now finds himself associated with political movements, ones he didn’t ask to be involved in.

Brandon Brown, and his family's team Brandonbilt Motorsports caught the backlash of this now political catch phrase. As “Let’s Go Brandon” spread around the world like wildfire, Brandonbilt Motorsports lost some of their sponsors, and was virtually unable to receive new sponsorship. The only sponsorship offer the team found themselves receiving was from LGBcoin (Let’s Go Brandon Coin) who offered to bring an entire season’s worth of funding to the No. 68 car. Although it would mean even further association with the term “Let’s Go Brandon”, the team accepted the offer. Many fans question whether or not the team has had any other opportunities for sponsorship in 2022 besides LGBcoin.

While NASCAR previously claimed to have not approved the LGBcoin sponsorship and paint scheme, Stock Car Media recently learned that Brandonbilt Motorsports’ claims were true. NASCAR did approve the sponsorship. Photos which were posted online reveal that an individual working for NASCAR did review the sponsorship, and approve it to join the team in 2022. A few minor graphic design details were the only suggestions made. See the photos below:

James Koutoulas on Twitter

James Koutoulas on Twitter

James Koutoulas on Twitter

One detail that stands out in these photos is the fact that Brandonbilt Motorsports and the parties responsible for the sponsorship emailed NASCAR directly, rather than using a portal for submitting sponsorship and paint scheme requests. As the emails state, the paint scheme and sponsorship submission portal was experiencing technical difficulties and was inaccessible at the time Brandonbilt Motorsports submitted their information, a fact recently shown to be true by Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass. With this sponsorship being emailed rather than submitted through the portal, fewer individuals at NASCAR were able see this paint scheme and make a decision for the sanctioning body. It appears that only one employee made the decision for the entire sport.

This might make even more sense as we learn that NASCAR was expected to prohibit political sponsorship in the coming months, a rule oil change that will likely prioritized because of this entire debacle. Although not confirmed, NASCAR reportedly told Brandonbilt Motorsports in November that any “Let’s Go Brandon” sponsorships would not be approved for the team. As this paint scheme and sponsor do not explicitly use the worlds “Let’s Go Brandon”, it appears the team thought LGBcoin would be acceptable. The false approval that the team received only further added to the confusion.

All this confusion was too much for LGBcoin CEO James Koutoulas, as he posted to social media on Tuesday evening that “bring a suit upon the (NASCAR)” on behalf of all the LGBcoin holders, who have experienced quite the mess when it came to sponsoring a NASCAR team. Any substantially to this claim made my Koutoulas is unclear at the moment, but if LGBcoin does go to court with NASCAR, things could get very messy for either party. 

As many suspected, NASCAR was not very pleased by their accidental approval of the LGBcoin sponsorship. As the association attempts to back track, and permanently revoke approval for Brown and his team, more news will certainly develop. Follow Stock Car Media, as we continue to post on NASCAR news daily, including news that concerns Brandonbilt Motorsports.

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