It seems the lifeline that was lastly going to convey Landon Cassill success commensurate together with his talent degree had an anchor connected to it. Many individuals, probably together with the veteran NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Collection driver, noticed it coming. However now it’s crushed Cassill a month earlier than the beginning of the brand new season.
It’s a cautionary story of the potential perils of cryptocurrency.
Regardless of the latest announcement by Kaulig Racing that Landon Cassill would return to the Xfinity Collection within the No. 10 Chevy, the motive force revealed on Wednesday that he now not has a full-time experience.
“Sadly, I gained’t be driving the ten automotive full time this yr,” Cassill wrote on Twitter. “Nevertheless, my quest to win in NASCAR continues. Sponsorships drive my enterprise, and my sponsors during the last two years have been by means of rather a lot. Rebuilding might be my high precedence.”
Cassill was driving for JD Motorsports within the 2021 Xfinity Collection when cryptocurrency agency Voyager Digital got here aboard to sponsor his No. 4 Chevy for the second half of the season. After ending the yr 22nd in factors, Cassill signed on to drive for the extra aggressive Kaulig Racing final season.
That was a straightforward selection for Kaulig since Cassill was bringing one other half-season of Voyager cash with him, and Cassill had a mixed 502 Cup and Xfinity Collection begins beneath his belt.
The motive force missed the playoffs and completed 13th in factors, however his 12 top-10 finishes had been simply two in need of what he achieved in his first 176 profession begins.
Voyager went beneath, taking Landon Cassill’s 2023 plans with them
The volatility of cryptocurrencies is an ongoing story, with the newest growth a chapter submitting on Thursday by lender Genesis International Holdco, which the New York Occasions defined obtained hit arduous by the collapse of FTX late final yr.
Earlier than FTX, the massive crypto disaster of 2022 was the demise of Voyager Digital, which filed for chapter halfway by means of the NASCAR season and is being purchased out for $1 billion, a sum that can largely be used to cowl debt owed to purchasers.
It’s believed Voyager had already delivered most of its sponsorship cash to Landon Cassill and Kaulig Racing earlier than the difficulty hit, however the turmoil ended any probability of continued help in 2023. So, with half his funding gone, Cassill will run solely a restricted schedule.
Daniel Hemric and rookie Chandler Smith are unaffected by Cassill’s sponsorship hassle and can run full Xfinity Collection seasons. Justin Haley will choose up not less than among the openings created by Cassill’s state of affairs.
Brandon Brown additionally felt the ache of a cryptocurrency disaster
Brandon Brown is aware of solely too nicely what Landon Cassill goes by means of with the clock ticking down towards the beginning of the NASCAR Xfinity Collection season. Brown misplaced his experience together with his household’s staff late season as a result of sponsorship cash dried up. He accomplished the season grabbing rides with lesser groups and dropped to 17th within the season standings after climbing to 13th and contending for the playoffs in mid-July.
Brown’s sole Xfinity win got here in late 2021 at Talladega, infamously beginning the “Let’s go Brandon” uproar. Brown contended the political overtones made it not possible to land standard sponsorships for 2022, although he probably exaggerated. He pivoted to a cope with the Let’s Go Brandon Coin (LGBCoin) cryptocurrency, however NASCAR rejected the sponsorship due to the political connotations.
The association was reworked as an endorsement, however the worth of the cryptocurrency tanked, leaving the motive force excessive and dry. One report characterised the complete episode as “a dumpster hearth.”
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