NASCAR driver Carl Long knows how to make an appearance it seems. Long participated in his first NASCAR race since 2009 this past weekend, and showed up with a logo for Veedverks, the Colorado-based marijuana vaping company.
The No. 66 @veedverks Chevy is currently going through tech. First practice is at 11:30 with coverage on @FS1. pic.twitter.com/EpSGSYbV1E
— MBM Motorsports (@MBMMotorsports) May 12, 2017
The sponsorship caused some mild controversy when officials forced the logo’s removal as it apparently violated the racing association’s rules regarding sponsorships and paint schemes. Confusion abounded as the association claimed they had not vetted and approved the Veedverks sponsorship, though Long says he submitted the logo for approval.
There was one major problem, however. His camp had spelled the company’s name wrong.
“I am the guy who failed NASCAR. You will find many misspelled or mistype words in my posts,” Long wrote in a Facebook post. “We submitted a mispelled to Nascar. It would never been allowed. Just leave it to me to create a big stink.”
Long had previously been fined $200,000 by NASCAR for an engine inspection infraction. It was reportedly the largest monetary fine in the NASCAR history up until that point, according to Yahoo Sports. Because Long couldn’t pay the fine, he was banned from the association until recently satisfying the requirements in NASCAR’s eyes. He still needed money to afford racing in this past weekend’s Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway, and asked on Facebook for $25,000 special one-race sponsorship (the going rate, according to Yahoo, can be up to 10 times of that figure).
Long did arrive to the Speedway with the Veedverks logo intact as you can in the above tweet, but after removing it, you wouldn’t be surprised if the company pulled their sponsorship. It turns out Veedverks kept their words, according to a recent Facebook post.
In the comments, a Veedverk representative wrote “NASCAR just stole our entire marketing budget and two months’ operating cash” and that they “need customers big time now.” That being said, because of the controversy and subsequent media coverage, this could be a major coup for the company. There is more press and mention of Veedverks this week than if Long had somehow won the race. Whether it transforms into new business is a different story, though.
