After an unsuccessful attempt in 2014, the Bitcoin (BTC) logo has finally found its place (a small one) in NASCAR, the US prime auto-racing franchise, after mobile payment service Cash App, which also supports BTC trading, inked a multi-year deal with Richard Petty Motorsports.
The business will serve as the primary sponsor of the Chevrolet Camaro piloted by star driver Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr. for five events, and an associate partner throughout the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
Cash App is developed by US-based mobile payments company Square, founded and led by well-known Bitcoin bull, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
https://t.co/PEqralZSjH
— jack (@jack)
@adam3us @jack Cash App was green before bcash even existed; muh appropriation!
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp)
Bitcoin’s journey to make its mark in NASCAR was lengthy and arduous, as the franchise’s fans from the Cryptoverse can attest. In 2014, BTC users launched a campaign in an attempt to land a sponsorship deal with another NASCAR driver, Alex Bowman. Dubbed Bitcoin23 in reference to the athlete’s racing number, the effort was designed to place Bitcoin’s logo on Bowman’s Toyota Camry. Its organizers aimed to collect at least USD 100,000 to seal a full sponsorship deal, making his vehicle Bitcoin-themed for the August 29-31, 2014 race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, the crypto crowdfunding campaign did not generate the expected results, and in 2018, BK Racing, which was Bowman’s team at the time of the campaign, was shut down.
However, back in March 2014, Dogecoin (DOGE) users raised some DOGE 67m, which at that time were worth about USD 55,000, to sponsor driver Josh Wise’s car in NASCAR’s Talladega Superspeedway race.
brings back memories pic.twitter.com/b6qIYMMaBj
— Matt Odell (@matt_odell) July 14, 2020
For some time, bitcoin users could only hope to boost their exposure in NASCAR through e-sports, as was the case in April this year, when a Bitcoin aficionado beat Kyle Busch, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, in a game on the iRacing platform. However, with the latest Bubba Wallace contract, Bitcoin is finally making its entry to the real NASCAR race.
For NASCAR, which has struggled against dwindling viewership in the US, increased interest from the crypto sphere could present the sport with a chance to rejuvenate its audience. Between 2003 and 2013, the Daytona 500 race, which is the franchise’s top race, saw its viewership drop from 16.5 million to 9 million.
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