NASCAR withdrew its approval of Brandon Brown’s sponsorship deal with the LGB coin, CNN reported Thursday, citing a statement from Brandonbilt Motorsports spokesman Max Marcucci.
“NASCAR did not speak with Brandonbilt Motorsports prior to making their decision to rescind the approval and multiple attempts to set up a conversation to address this matter went unacknowledged,“ the statement said.
Marcucci stressed that the racing team has complied with all standard procedures for sponsor and paint scheme approval and “received approval from a NASCAR official empowered to make those decisions, and who makes those decisions on a regular basis.”
“This official then confirmed and reiterated that we had received approval in a phone conversation after the announcement was made,” he said. “We are disappointed that NASCAR leadership has chosen to rescind approval of this sponsorship and feel they should have the confidence to own their decision to backtrack and not gaslight a team or a driver.”
According to the spokesman, “NASCAR leadership's handling of this situation now threatens to strain our relationships and places us in an incredibly awkward position, yet again.”
The team was said to be informed about the decision on Tuesday earlier this week after a number of reports claimed that NASCAR had notified Brandonbilt Motorsports in November that politically charged messages were not welcome in any sponsorship deal.
Last week, Brandon Brown announced his sponsorship by the LGB coin, posting a video of his No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro with red, white, and blue livery with the logo and wordmark of LGBcoin that would have remained for the NXS season.
In an earlier interview, he said that it is difficult for him to find sponsorship as big companies don’t want to be associated through their customers with politics. Speaking in November about Brown’s situation, NASCAR’s president Steve Phelps noted that “it speaks to the state of where we are as a country.”
“We do not want to associate ourselves with politics, the left or the right. We obviously have and we’ve always had, as a sport, tremendous respect for the office of the president no matter who is sitting,” he said. “Do we like the fact that it kind of started with NASCAR and then is gaining ground elsewhere? No, we’re not happy about that. But we will continue to make sure that we have respect for the office of the president."