NASCAR Finally Comes Full Circle
Cadillac mill keeps the needle pegged at 70 through the North Carolina woods. The 1940 Ford Business Coupe rocks dips in the gravel dirt road under the illumination of a full moon. The driver chews gum to distract himself from the sound of rattling mason jars inside wooden crates behind him. Overhead V8 thunders through the woods under the camouflage of night.
NASCAR is motorsport born from humble dirt tracks by steel nerved wheelmen who thought it be fun to find out who had the fastest car. Racing in souped-up, pre-war jalopies on Sunday and then outrunning the feds on Monday. It took a little over seven decades but stock car racing has finally come full circle with NASCAR’s recent announcement of a multi-year partnership with Dixie Vodka. Corn liquor is sponsoring stock-car racing… legally!
While the days of vapor trails hovering over mason jars in wooden crates are now seen under a sepia-toned filter of nostalgia, today’s NASCAR is all about business. And why wouldn’t it be? This is America, a place where we can’t agree on anything except that money has the loudest (and often final) voice. When I first read the news I had to make sure I wasn’t reading an article from The Onion. ‘Dixie Vodka’ and ‘official sponsor of NASCAR’ does have a parody cadence to it.
Dixie Vodka was launched in 2014 by Grain & Barrel Spirits, and has already spread east of the Mississippi, becoming one the largest vodka producers in the Southeast. As part of the agreement with NASCAR, Dixie Vodka will be sponsoring a Cup Series race in March 2020. The Dixie Vodka 400 will be held at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which will also be the track’s 25th anniversary (and that – shore ‘nuff – calls for a drink!) As part of the partnership, Dixie Vodka will also become the Official Vodka of the DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and Richmond Raceway.
NASCAR fans will now be able to sip clear liquor while enjoying a race without fear of Johnny Law crashing the party.
Jesus Behind the Wheel 