A rendering of the race car sponsored by San Antonio-based Defense Unicorns Inc. It will be taking part in the June 21 race at Naval Base Coronado in California.
Spire Motorsports
The unicorn mascot of a San Antonio software firm will be hitting the track to disarm the competition.
Defense Unicorns Inc. is sponsoring the No. 71 car — driven by Michael McDowell — in the June 21 NASCAR Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado in California.
Article continues below this ad
Its cartoon mascot, Doug the unicorn, will be staring out from the hood and fenders of McDowell’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as it traverses the 3.4-mile road course in a first for both Defense Unicorns and NASCAR.
Backing the Spire Motorsports car is the San Antonio company’s first foray in the world of NASCAR sponsorship. The June 21 race also is the first time that the league’s top series has appeared at the venue on the Navy base near San Diego.
READ MORE: San Antonio defense tech firm hits unicorn status with software update system
San Antonio Express News Logo
Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.
Add Preferred Source
“NASCAR is America’s sport born from grit, built on speed, and beloved by the communities that produce our warfighters,” Defense Unicorns CEO Rob Slaughter. “We build alongside our warfighters, and events like this remind us exactly who we’re building for.”
Article continues below this ad
He and two of his Air Force buddies, Jeff McCoy and Andrew Greene, started the company in 2021 to help the military fix its software problems on systems disconnected from the internet, known as “air gap” systems.
They found early success with their main program, Unicorn Delivery Service, which already is used on 50 Pentagon systems. Its largest customer is the Navy’s Columbia-class nuclear submarine program.
The company has landed government contracts that could be worth more than a billion dollars, including potential work under the Golden Dome initiative.
Most of its 200-person staff work remotely. Earlier this year, the firm moved its headquarters from Colorado Springs to San Antonio.
Article continues below this ad
CYBER CITY: San Antonio base a contender for Space Force cyber warfare unit
It also reached its own unicorn status with a billion-dollar valuation after closing a $136 million funding round.
In the week before the race, Defense Unicorns will be hosting its Warhacker hackathon in San Diego to bring people together to work on solving some of the military’s software problems.
“Defense Unicorns was built by veterans for the mission, and sponsoring Michael McDowell … is our way of showing up for the people who make that mission possible and saying thank you,” Slaughter said.
Article continues below this ad
The sponsorship is a one-time deal for the Coronado race.
Another area company, Rush Truck Centers, a subsidiary of New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises, also has a NASCAR sponsorship. It’s supporting the No. 4 car of Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports for nine races this season, including the Coronado event.
READ NEXT: SpaceX, 11 other firms nab $3.2B for Golden Dome as costs draw scrutiny
The Defense Unicorns car’s driver, McDowell of Glendale, Ariz., has two wins and more than 500 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
Article continues below this ad
“I’m thrilled to represent Defense Unicorns in San Diego at Naval Base Coronado,” McDowell said. “It’s going to be a unique race weekend, something like we have never seen before. My appreciation for the military and its systems is something I take seriously and what better place to represent this important platform than Coronado?”
This season, Spire Motorsports of Mooresville, N.C., has three cars in the NASCAR Cup Series and two trucks in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The race will be televised live on Amazon Prime and HBO Max beginning at 3 p.m. Central Daylight Time on June 21.