Crypto is back in vogue and it has all to do with the recent activity of twitter celebrities. The increased popularity led to a number of unforeseen collaborations, but one of the most notable ones was the Dogecoin NASCAR.
Bitcoin’s first steps into the auto industry was a result of Tesla’s plans to accept payments in Bitcoin. However, there are other coins that have been making waves- Nissan dealers started accepting Dogecoin. This coin was launched in 2013 as a more accessible alternative to Bitcoin and became very popular in no time.
In 2014, Dogecoin took it a notch higher by financially supporting the Winter Olympics. Then, it sponsored the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled team, which set the stage for this amazing coin’s latest offering: Sponsorship of a NASCAR Cup Series car.
The idea to sponsor a NASCAR car was conceived after a Reddit user with the username unicorn_butt_sex, asked if the community could support the sponsorless number 98 Ford Fusion, which was driven by Josh Wise.
This soon gained traction as more users pitched this idea to Phil Parson’s Racing, who own the car. They were told to produce $50,000, if a full-car Dogecoin livery was to be made.
After series of donations by eager Reddit Users, Josh Wise soon announced that Dogecoin would be sponsoring him at the 2014 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Twitter.
The unconventionality of Josh Wise’s netizen-designed car gained the attention of lots of commentators and fans, even those that had no remote idea of what cryptocurrency is about. However, there was more to come at the race. Wise went as high as fourth and eventually finished 20th, which was his second-best result in the NASCAR Cup.
Footages from the race trended online, especially a particular one of Wise’s livery staring down Dale Earnhardt Jr. Some fans went as far as organizing a voting campaign aimed at getting Wise into the year’s All-Star Race.
Strengthened off his fan’s love and sponsor’s support, he participated in the All-Star Race but finished last. However, this did not still stop him from bringing back some money for his cash-strapped team. Dogecoin was also on Wise’s helmet at the Coca-Cola 600, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, and the Geico 500 again at Talladega.
These involvements caused a rise in the Dogecoin stock car’s popularity, which resulted in its adoption for racing video games such as the NASCAR ’14 video game. The Dogecoin livery’s last appearance was in NASCAR in 2015, where it was represented by a Chevrolet SS stock car at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 race, and went as high as 38th position but ended in 28th overall.
No one could have predicted this, but cryptocurrency is finding its ways into every aspects of our lives. More and more industries are integrating crypto into their financial options and this is just the beginning.
Although the NASCAR adventure can be attributed to the persuasiveness of Reddit users as a collective, it shows the versatility of crypto and why it is set to become the new fiat.
