NASCAR driver opts for crypto payment in sponsorship deal

Landon Cassill, a professional race car driver in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, will be receiving part of his salary in Bitcoin and Litecoin as part of a sponsorship with crypto broker Voyager.

According to a Thursday report from the Associated Press, Voyager has finalized a 19-year agreement to sponsor Cassill starting this weekend at the NASCAR race at the Nashville Superspeedway. Cassill said the firm would pay for the deal entirely in crypto, with a "portfolio of various digital assets" that includes Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC).

The NASCAR driver was reportedly already “very active” in the Litecoin market as well that of other tokens and has made significant gains for several years. His Twitter profile picture shows the 31-year-old in racing gear with laser eyes — an indication on social media of being interested in crypto.

Started mining Bitcoin in my basement now we’re here https://t.co/Tpl4rWTOCE

— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 17, 2021

"There are a handful of pilots who like crypto, but I am probably one of the ones who has been around long enough and I am quite comfortable with how it works," said Cassill. "I can trade it right away before the market changes or hold on to it while the market goes up or down, take out a little, pay my bills with it and keep the rest."

Related: Bitcoin car will race at the Indianapolis 500

Other NASCAR drivers have formed relationships with crypto firms over the years. In 2020, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey previewed Square's Cash App car to be driven by Darrell “Bubba” Wallace in a NASCAR racing series — the vehicle featured at least two BTC logos. In addition, race car driver Ed Carpenter drove Zap CEO Jack Mallers’ “orange-spotted, Bitcoin-covered, engineering beast” at the Indy 500 last month. Carpenter and others attended the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami after the event.