Sponsorship is hard to come by, and the financial picture is typically not pleasant when a family-run team has to boot their own family member from the driver’s seat. NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brandon Brown, whose Brandonbilt Motorsports team has had erratic funding throughout the 2022 season, will learn this firsthand as he is replaced by Austin Dillon in the #68 Chevrolet Camaro for 30 July’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To preserve his playoff eligibility, he will drive Mike Harmon Racing‘s #47 in the event.
Dillon brings both Cup Series experience and sponsorship from Maestro’s Classic for the race. The 2013 Xfinity champion was involved in a wreck in his first series start of the year at Charlotte with Big Machine Racing Team. Big Machine and Brandonbilt both have technical alliances with Richard Childress Racing, who fields the #3 Cup car for Dillon.
“We are diligently working to secure the necessary funding that is needed to keep Brandon in the No. 68 for the remainder of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and we look forward to his return the following weekend at Michigan International Speedway,” said Brown’s father and Brandonbilt owner Jerry Brown.
Brown scored his maiden win at Talladega in late 2021, but what was supposed to be a popular victory for a small operation quickly became overshadowed by fans’ chants maligning President Joe Biden during Brown’s post-race interview, which were misheard by NBC reporter Kelli Stavast as “Let’s Go Brandon”. The phrase has since become a minced oath for conservatives to criticise Biden, and its indirect ties to Brown prompted potential sponsors to hesitate about investing in Brandonbilt. Although Brown is a Republican like many of those using the phrase, he sought to distance himself from the situation and eventually tried to “take it back” by spinning it into a positive context. Ironically, his tactic entering the 2022 season was to acquire full-time sponsorship from the cryptocurrency LGBCoin, which had glaring anti-Biden connotations from its investors, before NASCAR rejected it. Nevertheless, the debacle prompted many of his existing sponsors like Larry’s Hard Lemonade to withdraw their funding.
The #68 spent much of 2022 rotating between sponsors like TradeTheChain, Zero FG Energy Drink, Solid Rock Carriers, Jabs Construction, and the family-owned Brandonbilt Foundations. At Road America, Brown seemed to find closure for the “Let’s Go Brandon” fiasco when he partnered with Sheletta Brundidge, author of the children’s book Brandon Spots His Sign about her son Brandon—who has autism—interpreting signs with the phrase as personal motivation for him. The Brundidges attended the race and gave out copies of the book, while its cover appeared on the #68’s hood. Speaking to the Associated Press after the race, Brown called it a “breakthrough moment for us. This can be positive. This can be good. It doesn’t have to be hateful or divisive.”
Despite the LGB saga seemingly ending on a positive note for Brown, sponsorship still remained an issue until boiling over with Friday’s news. He is currently thirteenth in points and scored his first top five of the season on Saturday at New Hampshire. However, one will easily pause about Brown’s playoff hopes staying strong at Indianapolis as MHR has struggled throughout 2022, failing to qualify eleven times with four drivers and holding a best finish of twenty-first at Talladega.
Regardless, even driving for a backmarker would allow him to stay eligible as he needs to attempt all twenty-six regular season races. During the 2019 Camping World Truck Series regular season, Tyler Ankrum entered two races for a start-and-park entry fielded by NEMCO Motorsports in order to remain in playoff contention should he qualify, which he succeeded by winning two races later with his main team. MHR’s #47 was filled by Ryan Vargas at Portland and Road America when his JD Motorsports ride was taken by others.
“I regret to confirm the news that I will not be piloting the No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro for Brandonbilt Motorsports (BMS) next weekend at the Indy Road Course,” began a statement by Brown. “This was a collective decision made between myself and the team, and solely relates to the lack of sponsorship funding that is needed for me to compete each weekend.
“Stepping out of the No. 68 and away from BMS, the team that I’ve spent my entire life helping to build, is one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do – but it’s the decision that is best for the sake of keeping BMS on-track and our team members employed. We’ve been an underdog team and driver combo since the very beginning and have battled adversity during every step of our motorsports journey – and if there’s anything that I’ve learned from the hard-working men and women at BMS, it’s that we never quit and always persevere.
“I’d like to wish Austin Dillon all the best next weekend and hope to see him give the No. 68 a strong showing. I’d also like to thank Mike Harmon Racing for giving me the opportunity to stay on-track at Indy as I will be driving the No. 47 Chevrolet.
“To all of my fans and current sponsors, I am beyond grateful for your continued support. I think this announcement accurately proves just how important each of you truly are.
“I’m looking forward to getting back on-track with BMS tomorrow at Pocono as well as returning to the No. 68 at Michigan and as many races as l have funding for after that. I will keep working as hard as I can to cultivate new partnerships and hopefully keep a full-time seat in the sport that I love so much. I’m not done yet.”
