MOORESVILLE, North Carolina (WCMH) — When driver Stefan Parsons takes the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Alsco Uniforms 300, a certain Shiba Inu will be riding along as a sponsor.

Sean Taylor, founder and CEO of the car’s main sponsor Springrates, says he immediately saw an opportunity to bring back Dogecoin – the cryptocurrency originally started as a joke – in NASCAR as popularity and traction have increased on social media platforms.

“Lately, I have been obsessed with learning more about blockchain and the future of decentralized currency. I had the idea of including Dogecoin on the car for this race while chatting with Stefan following the season opener in Daytona,” said Taylor. “It was ironic because at the time, I wasn’t aware his dad’s team previously ran the Dogecoin car in 2014. Maybe it was fate.”

This isn’t the first time Dogecoin has adorned a NASCAR car. In 2014, Reddit users helped raise $50,000 to put the currency on the car of driver Josh Wise.

“Dogecoin has such a great community, and there is so much interest surrounding it. I’m drawn to it because it’s affordable, gaining a lot of traction and has endless potential. Plus, who doesn’t love memes?” Taylor added.

“Having the opportunity to run a scheme that has an incredible story from my Dad’s race team is something I am so proud to do. When Josh ran the Dogecoin car in 2014, I was much younger and remember being so excited at the fact that the Dogecoin community and Reddit came together to make it happen. At the time, I also wished it were me in the seat. So, to have the chance for Dogecoin to ride along with Sean and me in Las Vegas is a dream come true,” Parsons added.