Tue, Jul 05, 2022 page16

• Boy helps driver put spin on anti-Biden chant

  • AP, ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin
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  Brandon Brown wanted a way to change the narrative behind the “Let’s go, Brandon” message after his first career NASCAR victory inadvertently fostered a chant that has been used to insult US President Joe Biden.

  Brown found that new message thanks to the family of an eight-year-old boy with autism.

  Brandon Brundidge of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, was on a spring-break trip to Houston in March when he saw signs with the “Let’s go, Brandon” phrase. He believed they were meant to encourage him, and consequently started trying activities he never attempted before, such as learning to swim and removing the training wheels from his bicycle.

  

  From left, Sheletta Brundidg, her son Brandon Brundidg and NASCAR driver Brandon Brown pose for a photograph in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Saturday.

  Photo: AP

  His mother, Sheletta Brundidge, used that story to write a children’s book titled, Brandon Spots His Sign. Brown had the cover of her book on the hood of his Camaro for his Xfinity Series race on Saturday at Road America.

  “To have this come through was like that breakthrough moment for us,” Brown said. “This can be positive. This can be good. It doesn’t have to be hateful or divisive.”

  The divisiveness started after Brown earned his first career NASCAR victory in October last year.

  People at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama chanted “Fuck Joe Biden” during the winner’s post-race interview, but NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast incorrectly told Brown the fans were chanting “Let’s go, Brandon.”

  From that point, “Let’s go, Brandon,” became a rallying cry for Biden critics, with signs bearing that message popping up all over. Brown unintentionally found himself in the middle of the firestorm that surrounded the chants.

  “I’ve just been hopeful that I could make it a positive, I could have my name back and not have it be so divisive and scary, where it wouldn’t be a political statement for my friends and family to cheer me on during a race,” Brown said.

  That is where the Brundidge family stepped in.

  Sheletta Brundidge is the mother of four children, and three of them have autism. She has written children’s books focusing on each of them.

  She said that Brandon Brundidge often dealt with social anxiety, but that changed after he saw all the “Let’s go, Brandon” signs and assumed people were cheering him on. He suddenly had a whole new attitude and was not nearly as shy about trying new things.

  “He literally wanted us to put flags in front of the house [saying] ‘Let’s Go Brandon,’” Sheletta Brundidge said. “I’m like: ‘That’s not going to happen. We’re not putting these flags in front of the house.’”

  Brown learned about the book from his mother and invited the Brundidge family to Road America. They met in person for the first time on Saturday, and the two Brandons became fast friends.

  “It feels like I have a twin brother, but who’s older than me,” Brandon Brundidge said.

  The Brundidges gave out copies of Brandon Spots His Sign at Road America. The book’s cover design decorated Brown’s car, although he was knocked out of Saturday’s race after getting caught in a multicar wreck that caused him to get examined and released from the infield care center.

  “I’m sorry for what you went through all of this past year,” Sheletta Brundidge told Brown on Saturday. “I know it’s been horrible, but I’m so glad it happened because this child would not have this breakthrough [otherwise]. He still would be afraid to ride his bike without training wheels. He’s literally walking up to kids and passing out this book. He would have never done that [before].”
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