A trip to Dawsonville, Georgia, is akin to traveling back in time.

It’s also a snapshot of NASCAR’s cultural roots, the true birthplace of stock car racing where moonshine runners raced north to deliver their illegal spirits to consumers up Highway 9. Even the town hall building is shared with a moonshine distillery and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

If that’s not indicative of the untouched marriage between politics, moonshine and stock car racing, nothing else is.

NASCAR is hoping to tap into that historical culture with a new partnership it is announcing today, as the league will name Sugarlands Distilling Co. as its official moonshine sponsor. As a part of a five-year agreement with NASCAR, Sugarlands has gained the right to promote its moonshine at retail and on packaging, and will host key customers and distributors at the track.

Sugarlands is a new company, launched in 2014 and based in Tennessee, that has already won numerous industry awards. And more importantly, they are fully invested in NASCAR and want to market and give back to fans. Ned Vickers is the founder and CEO of Sugarlands. A non-NASCAR fan, he realized that maybe he should be one.

"We did a market study on our customers, and we saw two trends -- NASCAR and country music," Vickers told Autoweek on Thursday. "And even not knowing a ton about NASCAR, everyone knows the role moonshine played in NASCAR's history. We did a lot of research, and we saw an opportunity to tell our story with NASCAR's own."

Jon Tuck is NASCAR’s chief revenue officer and says it’s a partnership NASCAR fans should care about.

"I think Ned was interested in NASCAR for several reasons," Tuck said. "He's come to understand our fans and he's already come up with several ways to give back to them. He sees the loyalty of our fans. He's smart enough to see the roots of our sport, and he has product in 29 states."

The first of those give-back programs is the "Beyond the Checkered Flag" sweepstakes. The grand prize winner will experience VIP access at a NASCAR race, entry to the Sugarlands hospitality tent and travel accommodations.

Vickers has already been in contact with the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, to discuss ways to tie NASCAR’s history in with his platform.

"We were blown away by the artifacts and stories contained in that building," Vickers said. "We think we can tell those stories and have fans be invested in our product. That's what I believe can make us different than other sponsors."

Lastly, signing an official moonshine sponsor is also a throwback to a version of NASCAR that was defined by beer and cigarettes. Most traditional fans still identify the sport with Winston, Anheuser-Busch and Levi Garrett.

Tuck says the sport isn’t defined by any one official sponsor -- or returning to the days of more over-21 brands -- but is still seeking the best brands in their fields to be associated with NASCAR.

"I don't think this is a huge departure from NASCAR traditions," Tuck said. "We do have long-standing relationships with Coors and Busch over the years, but we've always had a focus on aligning with the best brands in their respective fields, and that's not going to change."

Sugarlands recently announced a partnership with country music rising star and NASCAR fan Cole Swindell. Swindell will be releasing his own Sugarlands Shine flavors starting with a peppermint moonshine that hit the shelves in liquor stores across the country, online and in Sugarlands' distillery this month.

Sugarlands Distilling Co. is also a partner to Discovery Channel’s "Moonshiners," bringing the show’s notorious stars’ moonshine recipes straight to consumers. Sugarlands’ Moonshiners Legends products feature recipes from Mark Rogers, Mark Ramsey & Digger Manes, Steven Tickle, Jim Tom Hedrick and Patti Bryan, all stars of the popular television series.

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