‘Tis the season of lawsuits. In October 2024, NASCAR faced a lawsuit from Michael Jordan and Co. for its ‘monopolistic practices’. Several dominoes have fallen in this case, mostly not in the sport’s favor. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are at the threshold of overhauling the sport, and as this fiasco goes on, another is already here. In less than a year, another entity has accused NASCAR’s Jim France (CEO) and Steve Phelps (President) of causing financial losses.

The 2021 Xfinity Series season was nothing out of the ordinary on the track, yet one controversial off-track incident stands out. Back then, Brandon Brown drove in NASCAR’s second tier and won his first race at Talladega Superspeedway. What seemed like a harmless victory led to a drawn-out debate that reached a climax recently.

NASCAR now has two court cases

On October 3rd, 2021, Brandon Brown won his first Xfinity race in 113 starts. The ecstasy on the Brandonbilt Motorsports driver was apparent when he delivered a Victory Lane interview. However, behind his soaring emotions was a bevy of fans chanting slogans… but it wasn’t the kind of slogan you’d expect. ‘Let’s Go, Brandon’ was the slogan reported by NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast, but an unpleasant slogan directed at denouncing former President Joe Biden could clearly be heard. This interview sparked massive tension, and Brandon Brown lost sponsors. LGBcoins, a cryptocurrency coin minted as a joke to mock the derogatory slogans, ballooned in value, and the foundation offered Brown its support, while NASCAR even approved it in an alleged report.

However, NASCAR withdrew its approval following political backlash, and this caused a $571 million drop in LGBcoin’s value. In June 2024, the digital brand filed an amended lawsuit against Jim France, claiming “defamation, promissory estoppel, and breach of contract.” According to journalist Bob Pockrass in a recent X post, a Florida judge has approved part of that filing: “Florida judge ruled case can go to trial for LGBCoin promissory estoppel (relying on a promise) claim for damages to its market value that it claims resulted from NASCAR initial OK of sponsorship. Judge tossed breach of contract & defamation claims.”

Velvel Freedman and Joe Delich, partners at Freedman Normand, a law firm known for its expertise in cryptocurrency litigation, represent the plaintiff, the LetsGoBrandon.com Foundation. ‘Rug pull’, a crypto problem that involves people losing all the money they invested in a token, was allegedly weaponized by NASCAR. When the sport nixed the cryptocurrency sponsorship deal in 2021, LGBcoin allegedly doubled down on its campaign, promising a 2-year sponsorship and a personal endorsement. However, that much-publicized sponsorship came to naught as NASCAR held its ground.

Not only had LGBcoin lost all its market assets, but Brandon Brown also lost his career. Recently, however, the driver emerged on social media.

Politics and sports do not go hand-in-hand

The core root of this controversy was a political debate. The ‘Let’s Go, Brandon’ slogan and its derogatory twin found popularity in a part of the political spectrum. However, Brandon Brown tried his best to stop his views from tilting toward the political side. Driving a Chevrolet Camaro for his family team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, the driver had a lot of responsibility to stick to.

Brown said back in 2021, “This whole Talladega race win was supposed to be a celebration, and then it was supposed to be something that I was able to use to move up, and I really wanted to capitalize on that. 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.”

However, these efforts also fell apart as Brown lost sponsorship. Even when LGBcoin came to help, that initiative fell apart due to NASCAR hitting the brakes on the sponsorship. Hence, the BMS team disbanded after the 2022 Xfinity Series season. Last year, however, Brandon Brown saw a glimmer of hope. The 2024 Presidential election saw Joe Biden end his term and Donald Trump start his tenure. With this shift in the political atmosphere, Brown let out a message of hope that the cursed slogan would finally die down. He wrote on X, “So I guess after today the phrase dies and y’all can sponsor me again, thanks!!!”

Evidently, the impact of one Talladega win video from three years ago is still rolling. Hopefully, the lawsuit can see a resolution to this conflict soon.