Kyle Busch’s sponsor, Mars, elected to remove sponsorship from the No. 18 Toyota Camry for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
With the exception of NASCAR partners Sprint Cup, Goodyear, Sunoco, Ethanol and Camry (including the Toyota logo), Mars chose to relinquish the M&M’S paint scheme for the weekend and run the stars and stripes on the car.
On Friday, Busch joked that he chose to remove his own name in favor of “USA” over the driver’s door.
“It takes a lot of people to just kind of give up the real estate, obviously,” Busch said. “Advertising is the main reason as to why we can race these cars around the racetrack. M&M’s, NOS Energy Drink, Interstate Batteries — all of the folks that we’re partners with took their logos off the car, so that’s pretty cool.
"I did my part. I took my name off it. It’s cool and good.”
Although Joe Gibbs Racing had gotten the permission of all its sponsors before the weekend and was willing to sacrifice its bonus money for the race, NASCAR pointed out that competing without the circuit's contingency sponsor stickers — Coors Light Pole Award, Mahle, O’Reilly and DirecTV — could cost JGR valuable points that could lead the loss of season-ending bonuses worth millions of dollars.
"We were contacted by JGR regarding their paint scheme for Richmond and asked what decals were required by NASCAR," NASCAR vice president Steve O'Donnell said. "The team was told that the series logo, the Sunoco logo, the Goodyear logo and the ethanol logos were the only decals required.
"We applaud JGR for their efforts with this paint scheme as it is a proper reminder to never forget all those effected by the 9/11 tragedy."
The contingency sponsor stickers were added to the car after Friday's first practice. “NASCAR worked with us and we appreciate their cooperation," a spokesperson for JGR said. "There’s a big thanks to Mars for allowing us to do this for the race.”
The paint scheme will be available in a limited edition die-cast with the proceeds benefiting the USO.
