IndyCar drivers are part of a growing group of athletes who are getting into the crypto sponsorship game. One such driver is Conor Daly, who has a Bitcoin bonus built into his contract should he win the Indianapolis 500.
Crypto and IndyCar Racing
Various IndyCar drivers and athletes have gotten into the crypto sponsorship game. However, it is a curious concept to IndyCar fans. Despite this, crypto sponsorship is helping to provide much-needed sponsorship funds to pay the bills, and salaries of athletes and teams.
Ed Carpenter, an IndyCar team owner, is a staunch believer in new tech. His team, Ed Carpenter Racing, is better known as the Bitcoin Racing Team since both Daly and Rinus VeeKay drive Chevrolets sponsored by BitNile, which runs a Bitcoin mining data center.
During a speech that he gave at the Bitcoin 2021 conference, Carpenter said that he believes crypto companies can become a stead sponsor, providing crucial funding to race teams. Carpenter said that he does not look at the day-to-day volatility. He believes in it for the long haul.
Race Car drivers around the world hope crypto sponsorships can stir interest in fans to educate themselves about crypto coins. As more fans enter the market, the more likely it is that new tech firms will invest in racecar sponsorships.
Not Everyone Believes It Is a Lasting Solution
According to Stuart Madnick, an IT professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, it might not be a long-term solution when it comes to sponsorship. He noted that in the crypto sector, the long-term often refers to next week.
Landon Cassill, a NASCAR driver and crypto enthusiast has a different opinion. Cassill has an Infinity Series sponsorship with Voyager Digital, which is a crypto trading platform. During an ABC News interview, the NASCAR driver conceded that new technology markets are volatile. He added that he was a veteran in the space, and was familiar with market volatility. Cassill added that he trades the markets on Voyager. According to him, he has made some good trades in recent weeks.
Sports and Crypto Sponsorships
Sports teams and leagues were amongst the first to begin using crypto. For instance, the downtown home of the NHL’s Kings, Lakers, Clippers, and the WNBA’s Sparks changes its name in 2021 to Crypto.com Arena as part of a $700 million deal spanning 20 years.
Crypto.com has been on a spending spree in recent months. Besides the stadium deal, it also struck a sponsorship deal with F1, the UFC, and the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. Additionally, it bought the Philadelphia 76ers’ uniform sponsorship patch.
Crypto Is Going Mainstream But It Is Still Tough
These sponsorship deals are a sign that crypto is going mainstream, and firms are trying to get as big a chunk of the mainstream market as possible. However, landing a sponsorship in this sector can be tough, as NASCAR driver Landon Cassill conceded. He noted that it could be tough to mingle with the crypto crowd since the jargon they use can be complex. According to Cassil, the lingo was so new that if you had not been in it for a while, it was hard to know what was going on just based on the headlines.
