NASCAR: Brandon Brown’s intriguing quest has evolved

Since his victory at Talladega Superspeedway last October, Brandon Brown’s quest for NASCAR sponsorship has been an interesting journey.

To say that the career of NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brandon Brown has been covered differently since his first victory last fall is an understatement.

The driver of #68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet earned his first win when the race at the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) Talladega Superspeedway oval in Lincoln, Alabama was shortened due to darkness.

In a post-race interview, a group of fans chanting a politically motivated phrase was picked up by NBC Sports. In somewhat of a “damage control” effort, reporter Kelli Stavast claimed that they were chanting “Let’s Go Brandon!”, sparking a phrase that is used to this day — but not for Brown.

Following the rise in the notoriety of the chant, Brown distanced himself from it in a column he wrote in Newsweek.

But he tried to make the most out of the situation by landing business opportunities associated with it. His initial plan was to run a car sponsored by LGBCoin, a cryptocurrency founded following the rise of the phrase. However, NASCAR blocked the sponsorship.

Brown still ended up signing a two-year, eight-figure personal sponsorship with LGBCoin. But that deal was not related to NASCAR sponsorship.

However, despite this unsuccessful sponsorship attempt, Brown’s quest recently took a promising turn.

The 28-year-old Woodbridge, Virginia native recently announced a partnership with Zero FG Energy, the latest energy drink sponsor to enter the sport.

The company was quickly subjected to scrutiny based on their lack of social media presence, but that criticism was largely unfair.

Similarly, Focus Factor signed on to be the primary sponsor of Petty GMS Motorsports driver Erik Jones before the 2022 season, and they also faced such criticism. But Jones has competed with the scheme on his #43 Chevrolet without any sponsorship problems.

While there may be various horror stories in terms of motorsports sponsorship in recent years, most notably Rich Energy in Formula 1 and DC Solar in NASCAR, Brown is focused and hoping to capitalize on this opportunity while continuing to distance himself from the negative aspect of the “Let’s go Brandon!” chant.