NASCAR news: Pit Boss Grills extends reach, Busch Kansas race name revealed

While Kyle Busch’s M&M Messages Sweepstakes is the major food related story in stock car racing this week, the NASCAR world has also seen some other important news tidbits as well.

Earlier this week Pit Boss Grills extended its contract as the Official Grill of NASCAR in what is described as a multiyear deal that includes a physical presence at 18 race weekends during the 2021 season.

Available at both Lowe’s and Walmart, Pit Boss Grills will also be the title sponsor of the Triple-A level Xfinity Series’ Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of the Americas in late May.

They also have become primary sponsors for Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang and the Stewart-Haas eSports No. 41 in the Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

 Food-related NASCAR news aplenty this week.

“Not only does [Aric] embody our company’s values, but his race fans are our consumers,” Jeff Thiessen, president of Pit Boss Grills’ parent company Danson, said in a press release. “Whether tailgating at a track or getting together in the backyard, Aric’s fans and NASCAR fans are extremely brand loyal.

Other SHR food-related companies include Almirola’s primary sponsor of Smithfield meats, Cole Custer with Dixie Vodka, Kevin Harvick with Busch Beer, Hunt Brothers Pizza and Jimmy John’s, and Riley Herbst in Xfinity with Monster Energy. Incredibly, all full-time drivers in SHR history (since 2009) have had a food-related sponsor during their tenure.

Also, Kansas Speedway revealed the fan vote winner of the Busch Name a Race contest: The Cup Series race on Sunday, May 2 will be called the Buschy McBusch Race 400 (green flag around 3 p.m. ET, TV coverage on Fox).

It beat out the other fan vote nominees of the Busch Latte 400, the Nectar of the Cobs 400 and the For the Farmers 400, with each fan-suggested-name raising $1 for the agricultural charity Farm Rescue.

The Kansas Cup race will be called the Buschy McBusch Race 400, which is delightful in its absurdity, especially as it forces the very solemn, professional announcer Mike Joy to repeat it over and over throughout the telecast. (Color commentary by former drivers Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer will not be able to take this seriously in the least.)

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