2021 was a year that saw many drivers getting their first career win, and the second time NASCAR’s three national touring series went to Talladega was no different. Talladega ”2” saw 3 different drivers get their first ever win in their respective levels of the sport. One of these drivers was overnight sensation Brandon Brown. Running for his family owned one car team, Brandon became one of several unlikely winners this season. Brown’s win however came with some extra baggage, a right wing slogan that has started to hurt his career.
After his win when Brandon parked the car for his front stretch interview, fans in the crowd started chanting “f*ck Joe Biden.” The interviewer in a fast move to try to steer attention away from the chant said that they were chanting “lets go Brandon.” Seemingly overnight the phrase caught on and was picked up by right wingers everywhere, spreading like wildfire. Almost any place you looked in the pro sports world, fans were chanting their new favorite slogan and posting it all over Twitter and Facebook for everyone to see. It became so popular that most people saying “let’s go Brandon” had no idea where the chant came from, or even who the real Brandon was.
There is one thing to note earlier in this article that is very important, Brandon drives for a small, family owned team, a team that under normal circumstances has a hard time getting sponsors. Times were so tough at the shop they even produced a super creative used car salesman type commercial to sell advertisement space on the car. This slogan now being attached to his name made it even harder for an already struggling team to get sponsors to fund their racing efforts. These sponsor struggles could have come to an end if NASCAR approves the paint scheme and sponsor that they announced earlier on Twitter, “Lets Go Brandon coin” (LGBcoin), a new cryptocurrency. Brown announced early Friday morning on Twitter that he would run the scheme and sponsor for a full season before it was reported by many that NASCAR may not have approved the sponsor or paint scheme, possibly in an effort to ban political sponsors in the sport. NASCAR earlier this year denounced casual use of the phrase and made very good efforts to distance themselves from any political affiliation in the last few years.
Brandon Brown has officially gone full circle: from the slogan hurting him to becoming his full sponsor, something any driver would do if they were in a sponsor pinch like they have been. I do not think anyone can blame Brandon for taking on the sponsor, they should also not be so quick to be mad at him. Money is a huge part of racing and any and all drivers will do whatever they need to so they can continue their racing careers and Brandon Brown is no different.
The Slow Restart 