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Mars Inc leaving NASCAR world after 2022 season

By Wesley Coburn

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 10, 2021 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 10, 2021 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Mars Inc will be leaving the world of NASCAR after the 2022 season.

This stunning news was announced by various news outlets, including racing news site Jayski, on Monday morning, December 20, though it was first reported by the Sports Business Journal. 

Through its M&M’s brand primarily, Mars Inc has been a familiar sight at racetracks around the country since the late 1990s, and is currently the lead sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Camry driven by Kyle Busch.

In addition to M&M’s branding as a primary sponsor, Busch has also showcased fellow Mars Inc brands like Combos crackers, Doublemint gum, Skittles candy, and Twix and Snickers candy bars throughout the year, while Snickers was on the car in Toyota’s debut NASCAR Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2008.

Mars Inc will be leaving NASCAR after the 2022 season.

Ernie Irvin brought Mars Inc to the Cup Series in 1998 as the driver of the No. 36 Skittles Pontiac Grand Prix for MB2 Motorsports, with M&M’s becoming the main primary brand the next year. In 2003, Elliott Sadler brought M&M’s to the No. 38 Robert Yates Racing Ford Taurus, where it stayed with Sadler and David Gilliland until moving to the JGR No. 18 with Busch in 2008.

In a tweet, Busch stated that “My appreciation for the Mars family is eternal…always accepting me for who I am, and I’ll always be thankful for that.”

M&M’s have been on the car for both of Busch’s Cup Series championships, and Mars Inc brands (primarily Pedigree dog food and Banfield Pet Hospital) have also supporting Kyle Busch Motorsports trucks in the Double-A level Camping World Truck Series, in addition to the Triple-A level Xfinity Series JGR cars.

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Kyle Busch went to Victory Lane 55 times with Mars Inc brands on his car as primary sponsor, and look to close out a productive partnership during the 2022 season as the Next Gen car hits the track at Daytona on Sunday, February 20.

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