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Internet memes, virtual currency and NASCAR. On first glance, they have nothing to do with each other. But they do.

Today, Reddit Racing announced that its fundraiser to sponsor the No. 98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford of Josh Wise was a success. The group was able to reach their $50,000 goal…by raising more than 67 million DogeCoin online.

That brings us to the next question: What in the blue heck is DogeCoin?

It’s a form of virtual currency that’s used primarily as a “tipping” device for Internet/social media users. For example, if you see a noteworthy post or status update, you can choose to toss the poster a few DogeCoin. It also can be used to buy goods and services.

As for the weird name, that comes from the Doge internet meme, which centers around a fluffy Shibu Inu and superimposes short phrases of broken English into the pictures. In this particular case, ‘many donation’ or ‘very speed’ would be appropriate.

Hey, we made LOLcats and “I can haz cheezburger” popular, so why not this?

And besides, DogeCoin has been used in sports fundraising before. As you recall, the Jamaican bobsled team needed to raise $80,000 just to get to Sochi for last month’s Winter Olympics.

That sum was broken in the span of just a few days, and Dogecoin was a key part in making that happen. Now, it’s going to help Wise and the small PPR team, who reportedly will have the Dogecoin livery for the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Just a week ago this was only an idea and now it's a reality. So thankful for all the fans, @reddit community and @dogecoin for doing this👍 — Josh Wise (@Josh_Wise) March 25, 2014

Reddit users can also go here to submit entries in a community-judged car design contest. The deadline for submissions is April 1 at Midnight ET.

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