When a sponsor pays big bucks to support your race car, it has a right to weigh in when you throw punches at another driver.
NASCAR doesn’t seem too concerned about the pit road rumble between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano after the Kobalt 400. Neither does Logano, probably because his crew came to his immediate defense after Busch walked up swinging and he wasn’t the one who left the confrontation bloodied.
Still, someone was bound to have an adverse reaction to the donnybrook, and that someone is Mars, Inc. You might know the company as the maker of M&M’s and other candy, and more importantly, the sponsor of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota for the vast majority of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.
In a statement released to Fox Sports, Mars made it quite clear it wasn’t happy with Busch’s actions in Las Vegas:
"“The recent actions by Kyle Busch are not consistent with the values of Mars Chocolate North America. While we are disappointed with the situation, we hope the drivers and team members involved learn from this experience and continue to grow as professional athletes representing the sport.”"
Just a verbal slap on the wrist for Busch? Quite likely, but as ESPN points out, he’s something of a repeat offender when it comes to being a hothead, and Mars withdrew its sponsorship of Busch for a few races when he wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. on purpose in a 2011 Truck Series race.
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With that as context, the Mars statement could be a subtle warning for Busch not to seek retribution on the track, something he not so subtly hinted could be on his mind. It’s certainly something he should keep in mind when he gets behind the wheel this weekend at Phoenix.