Danny George’s rise in Formula Drift came with a twist few in motorsports saw coming: a high-visibility sponsorship from Nevada-based dispensary brand Shango that pushed cannabis into the racing mainstream. In early 2017, Shango announced it would be the core sponsor of the Las Vegas driver’s return to pro drifting—widely described as the first cannabis brand backing a Formula Drift athlete and one of the earliest overt cannabis sponsorships in U.S. motorsport.
The partnership wasn’t just a livery deal. It was a statement about normalization. Local TV coverage underscored the milestone, reporting that George would pilot a Shango-branded BMW M3 and highlighting his belief that the industry was maturing into the national spotlight. George emphasized a professional presentation—no cannabis leaf imagery on suits or cars—reflecting both sanctioning-body expectations and the sponsor’s desire to enter sports tastefully.
National and enthusiast outlets picked up the story, framing it as a bellwether for cannabis marketing’s next frontier. Coverage in The Drive and Yahoo Autos noted the significance: a marijuana dispensary backing a pro drift car in a series that prizes fan engagement and cultural relevance. For Shango, it was an opportunity to build brand recognition in a young, fast-growing sport; for George, it was a chance to return to the grid with a headline-making partner.
On track, the collaboration was immediately visible. The black-and-bronze Shango M3 appeared at Formula Drift rounds in 2017, including Orlando and Road Atlanta events covered by racing media and suppliers. Even when results fluctuated—as they often do in drifting’s bracket format—the car’s presence made the sponsorship hard to miss. The bold SHANGO wordmark sliding through smoke became one of the season’s enduring images.
Off the track, George and Shango linked the program to community action. During Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in 2017, Shango and George teamed with veterans’ disaster-relief group Team Rubicon, using the racing program’s reach to collect supplies and donations for Texas. Local news documented the convoy from Shango Las Vegas toward Texas—an example of how a non-traditional sponsor and driver could translate motorsports attention into tangible community aid.
The partnership also tested the boundaries of sports sponsorship policy during a transitional moment for cannabis. Nevada had just moved toward adult-use sales, and brands like Shango were seeking mainstream platforms without running afoul of league rules or broadcast standards. By adopting a clean, leaf-free aesthetic and focusing messaging on professionalism and community, the George/Shango effort offered a workable template—one that regulators, promoters, and teams could point to when evaluating future proposals.
In retrospect, Danny George’s Shango deal reads like an early case study in cannabis-sports crossover marketing: credible local reporting confirming the “first-of-its-kind” claim; formal press releases establishing intent; national automotive media amplifying the narrative; and meaningful community engagement that extended beyond the paddock. Whether or not every series is ready to field a cannabis sponsor, the 2017 campaign demonstrated how a driver and dispensary could collaborate within professional guardrails—and helped open a lane for more nuanced conversations about cannabis branding in American motorsport.