Popular NFT collection Pudgy Penguins has partnered with NASCAR to bring its brand to motorsports fans worldwide.
The company announced the collaboration on Wednesday through a post on X, accompanied by a teaser video showing its mascot, Pudgy, training and competing in a race. No further details have been provided yet.
Pudgy Penguins Hoping to Outpace a Slumping NFT Market With NASCAR
NASCAR’s digital expansion continues, following esports partnerships with BLAST and Spacestation Gaming. Now, its accelerating into Web3 with Pudgy Penguins—a bigger bet than its previous crypto fan token experiments.
Launched in 2021, Pudgy Penguins consists of 8,888 unique Ethereum-based NFTs.
The NFT sector has seen better days. After peaking at $50 billion in annual trading volume during the 2021-2022 boom, the market has experienced a sharp contraction.
First-quarter 2025 sales totaled just $1.5 billion, representing a 63% year-over-year decline. Monthly figures tell a similar story, with May’s $430 million in sales representing a fraction of previous highs.
Amid this downturn, Pudgy Penguins has emerged as a relative bright spot. The collection generated $72 million in Q1 2025 sales, outperforming blue-chip projects like CryptoPunks.
The project’s success stems from strategic brand expansion. Plush toys in Walmart, racking up millions of sign-ups for its Penguin Clash mobile game and teaming with Muthical Games to birth the lively Pudgy Party experience continues to keep Pudgy Penguins at the top of the NFT sector.
Despite these achievements, Pudgy Penguins’ native token, $PENGU, remains stagnant at $0.0109, down 84% from its all-time high. The NASCAR partnership could help reignite interest as the project continues targeting mainstream adoption.
