In one simple Tweet on Thursday, automaker BMW immediately spawned speculation as to whether they are debating a move to NASCAR.
Things started off innocently enough, as @TheOrangeCone — a popular member of the NASCAR Twitter community — simply asked for folks to, “Describe NASCAR racing in three words of less.”
While many Twitter users had the thoughts you would normally expect such as, Checkers or Wreckers or Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, things were flipped on their head when @BMWUSA — the official verified Twitter account of BMW’s United States division — Tweeted, “Better with BMW.”
Better with BMW.
— #TalkinLikeWalken (@BMWUSA) September 3, 2020
Following the post by BMW USA, Jeff Gordon’s cousin James Bickford, who is a race car driver who won two races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West back in 2014 and 2015, Tweeted a video of a production BMW model zooming around the Kentucky Speedway.
The caption states, “Sweet day @kySpeedway with @BMWUSA. Excited for what’s to come”
Sweet day @KySpeedway with @BMWUSA. Excited for what’s to come ? pic.twitter.com/IPQ7VZBSfT
— James Bickford (@Bickford_James) September 3, 2020
Uh, what? Does this mean that BMW, one of the world’s most iconic car brands is interested in moving to NASCAR?
Let’s think this through. BMW has NEVER entered a car in NASCAR. The sport has been around since 1949 and not once has one car ever been fielded with the German nameplate. That being said, BMW is known for several different types of cars. They are iconic for their performance line, which is usually showcased in IMSA competition, but they also are well known for their luxury vehicles.
While NASCAR has been home to luxury and family-style sedan vehicles in the past — such as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, the Ford Taurus or Ford Fusion or even the modern day Toyota Camry, I could see this being a possible avenue that BMW would want to showcase another style of their car for the American auto racing audience.
As there is always a possibility for anything to be something, TobyChristie.com has reached out to BMW USA to see if there was more to that Tweet. That request has gone unanswered at this time.
While it would be amazing to see a new manufacturer enter the fray, I expect more than likely, someone in the BMW social media team decided to troll the NASCAR Twitter community, which has been prone recently to jumping on wild Tweets and making them go viral with insane speculation.
Could BMW be joining NASCAR down the line? Perhaps. Would I expect it to happen based on the Tweet from Thursday? Absolutely not. But it sure did make things fun for a few minutes.