When it comes to NASCAR, you either love it or you hate it. But the racing venue is one of the most profitable sports in the US and is attracting an international audience. NASCAR’s annual revenues exceed US$3.1 billion (over 12 races) and an average ticket price of nearly US$100.

Number 23

The sport’s main race - the Daytona 500 - attracts more than 12 million households. Racing team sponsors often spend more than US$15 million on a single team and expenses like this often keep good teams off the track. BK Racing, however, has found a unique solution to this problem: crowdfunding using Bitcoin.

- Daytona 500

BK Racing is one of the teams that compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with their No.23 Toyota Camry driven by Alex Bowman and the No.26 Camry driven by Ryan Truex. The team wants to promote technological innovation and, as a way to get Bitcoin as a sponsor, they are taking advantage of crowdfunding to fund a new Bitcoin-themed livery for Rookie Alex Bowman’s No.23 car in time for the Atlanta Motor Speedway Labor Day race that’s being held August 29-31, 2014.

The car will be dubbed “Bitcoin23” for the race and the crowdfunding campaign will continue for one month and using “Crowdtilt” as a funding platform. Contributors will be able to use traditional funding methods but will also be able to contribute Bitcoin. Organizers hop to raise US$100,000 from the community so that Bitcoin could become a fully-fledged sponsor of BK, which includes:

  • Alex Bowman’s No.23 car will be wrapped in a special Bitcoin livery
  • Bitcoin helmet, fire suit, and apparel will be created and worn by the driver and crew
  • The team will bring Bitcoin related pamphlets at the track to educate others and raise the awareness of Bitcoin

Adam Hofman, Lead Writer for Bitcoin Magazine said about the announcement:

“This is an exciting time and opportunity for the Bitcoin community. The monumental success of the sport and Bowman and his team have made bringing Bitcoin to NASCAR possible. The success of Bitcoin23 will provide an opportunity to build stronger relationships between users, fans and businesses, throughout each community.”

Cryptocurrencies and NASCAR

Cryptocurrencies and NASCAR are nothing new, however. Just a few months ago, Josh Wise was sponsored by the community-driven Dogecoin with his very own Shiba Inu themed racecar, which helped Dogecoin become one of the most recognized names when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

- Dogecoin NASCAR via Reddit

Undoubtedly, the newly formed partnership could give Bitcoin a huge publicity boost due to its large audience and yearly revenue as NASCAR is one of the most watched sports in the word. Inversely, the BK Racing team could also reap great benefits for aligning itself with the Bitcoin and crypto-crowdfunding, which has already proven itself after a few successful campaigns. 

The given campaign, however, is not short of ambition. If it raises US$600,000, the team will be able to keep the Bitcoin car for the next 7 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Also, this would ensure that Bitcoin meetups happen at every NASCAR race the Bitcoin car is racing in, along with more educational events, meet and greets with Alex and the team and more. The team will also open up more rewards for individuals or businesses that want to have their logo or image on the car. 

The stage is set

Other big sports generally have a long season capped by a championship game. Regular season games are generally watched by only fans of those teams while the championship game is watched by all fans of the sport. Most NASCAR fans, however, watch each of the twelve races as if they are separate championship games. Moreover, these races not only fill the Grandstand at the race, but receive impressive television ratings as well.

Finally, fan merchandise such as T-Shirts, cup holders, etc., will have the Bitcoin logo prominently displayed.

To contribute to the official campaign, go here. 

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