Sweet On Kyle: Mars Close To Deal To Bring M&M's To JGR
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M&M's Could Replace Interstate As Primary
Sponsor Of Busch's Ride Next Year |
The Mars candy company is finalizing a deal to use its M&M's brand to sponsor NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Kyle Busch when he moves to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, according to Jenna Fryer of the AP. An official announcement is expected next month at M&M's World in N.Y. M&M's would replace Interstate Batteries, which has sponsored Gibbs' No. 18 car since its inception in '92. Interstate Chair Norm Miller is a "close friend" of Gibbs, and Miller funded the No. 18 to help start JGR when it was a single car team. The M&M's sponsorship would be a "financial upgrade," as JGR has "rapidly expanded into a three-car operation, and Interstate could not financially compete with the big budgets" of JGR sponsors The Home Depot and FedEx. Gibbs "continued to work with the company out of loyalty, even as Interstate began selling off races" to other sponsors. Interstate is expected to stay with the team "in a smaller role." M&M's is currently on Robert Yates Racing's No. 38 Ford, and it is unclear if Mars will continue the Snickers brand's sponsorship of Yates' second car, but the move to JGR "is troublesome to the Yates organization" (AP, 9/20).
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