Busch's Sponsor are reacting to his actions:

Report: Sponsor doesn't want Busch for finale

By The Associated Press
November 10, 2011 11:32 AM, EST



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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The fallout from Kyle Busch's road rage at Texas continued Thursday when one of his sponsors asked for him to be removed from the season-ending Nationwide Series race, The Associated Press has learned.

Multiple people familiar with Busch's schedule told the AP that Z-Line Designs asked this week that Denny Hamlin replace Busch in next weekend's Nationwide race at Homestead. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because Busch's future was still being discussed Thursday with sponsors and Joe Gibbs Racing.




Z-Line in the sand

Has Z-Line Designs had enough of Kyle Busch? The company's owner, Jim Sexton, seen talking to Denny Hamlin, who replaced the parked Busch, prior to the Nationwide race at Texas, apparently wants Hamlin for the finale at Homestead. Joey Logano will drive the No. 18 this week at Phoenix, with GameStop as the car's sponsor.

Among the options being considered is Aric Almirola replacing Busch in the final two Sprint Cup Series races of the season, as primary sponsor M&M's decides how it wants to proceed with Busch. Although NASCAR has cleared Busch to race this weekend at Phoenix, JGR officials have been silent on his status in Sunday's Cup race.

Busch has been off the track since he intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in the early laps of last Friday's Truck Series race at Texas.

Busch has admitted he lost control of his temper, and has since apologized. NASCAR parked him from all racing at Texas, and this week fined him $50,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year.

Busch, who seemed unrepentant after the accident, admitted losing his temper.

"I lost my cool, no doubt about it," he said. "I've been wrecked four weeks in a row, and I've had enough of it, and I retaliated. So it's certainly my fault for doing that. If everybody wants to say, 'Hornaday is racing for a championship, roll over,' that's not my fashion. That's not anybody else's fashion out here."

His tone changed considerably a day later, after NASCAR parked him from all competition at Texas.

"I've had a lot of time today to sit and reflect, and try to put my thoughts into words as best I can," he wrote in a lengthy apology posted Saturday on the Kyle Busch Motorsports website. "I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during Friday night's Truck Series race at Texas."

It's been a tremendous fall for the 26-year-old Busch, who just two months ago was the favorite to win his first Cup championship.

He opened the 10-race Chase tied with rival Kevin Harvick for the top seed based on his four regular-season victories. But he again faltered in the opening Chase races and never was a serious title contender.

This latest problem comes at the end of what's been a rough year for Busch, who actually had made huge strides in showing more maturity and patience both on and off the track. But he still had many missteps, including one on pit road with Harvick at Darlington that earned him a $25,000 fine.

Busch also lost his North Carolina driver's license and was fined $1,000 for driving 128 mph in a 45-mph zone in May. He also was ordered to do 30 hours of community service and serve a year of unsupervised probation.

Busch also was in a confrontation in the garage with rival team owner Richard Childress.


Busch also had contact with Elliott Sadler during a Bristol Truck race in August, then intentionally wrecked Sadler a few minutes later as retaliation. Sadler drives for Harvick, a longtime Busch rival, in the Nationwide Series.

In his apology Saturday, Busch noted that his missteps have undone all the progress he's made in maturing this season.

"Through a lot of support from the people around me, I feel like I've made a lot of strides this year, but this was certainly a step backward," he wrote. "Moving forward, I will do everything I possibly can to represent everyone involved in a positive manner. However, I know my long-term actions will have more of a bearing than anything I say right now."

Busch is one of NASCAR's most successful and polarizing drivers. He has 104 victories spanning NASCAR's top three national series, and consistently dominates in both the Nationwide and Truck series.

This year, Busch has four wins in the Cup Series, eight in Nationwide and six in Trucks. He drives for his own Truck team, and said last month he'll field a Nationwide team next season and planned to drive for himself in some of those races.

But he's disliked by some fans for everything from his success, his feuds with Harvick and others, and his aggressive on-track attitude.

Although JGR has not said if Busch's job is in jeopardy, he has been fired before. Hendrick Motorsports let him go at the end of the 2007 season, when the team made room to sign Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Update:

http://www.nascar.com/news/111110/kybusch-will-race-phoenix-but-without-sponsor-mms/index.html

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kyle Busch will compete this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, but not with primary sponsor M&M's on his race car.

Mars Inc., the parent company of M&M's, announced late Thursday that it would not be on the No. 18 Toyota for the final two races of this season, Phoenix and next week's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. According to NASCAR's entry list, Busch's vehicle was supposed to feature M&M's colors at Phoenix, but all that changed after he intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday under caution in a Camping World Truck Series event last Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, an action that has since engulfed Busch in a firestorm of controversy.


Kyle Busch wrecks Ron Hornaday under caution at Texas. (Getty) Trials and tribulations
After Kyle Busch's on-track actions during the Truck Series race at Texas, Busch, his team and his sponsors continue to deal with the ramifications heading into Phoenix this weekend.

Busch parked at Texas
Menzer: Time to grow up
Busch issues letter of apology
Video: Busch, Hornaday tangle
Video: NASCAR parks Busch
Video: Gibbs reacts to parking
Video: Harvick upset with Busch
RaceDay: Reaction, analysis
'Most galvanizing driver' As a result, Busch was parked for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup events at Texas, and the sanctioning body also fined him $50,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year. Although NASCAR allowed Busch to finish out this season, the question soon became whether his race team or his car sponsor would present a barrier to him getting back on the track.

In the end, Mars balked at Busch's behavior, something that became evident only after a long Thursday of waiting for the Gibbs team to shed some kind of light on the status of its driver. The situation at one point was so uncertain that the Gibbs team contacted former developmental driver Aric Almirola, who now pilots an entry for JR Motorsports on the Nationwide tour, on Wednesday about potentially driving the No. 18 Sprint Cup car should Busch not be available.

Busch will not drive an M&M's car again until 2012, when he will be reunited with his primary sponsor with the expectation that no future incidents take place, the company said. Interstate Batteries will fill in as primary sponsor for the final two weeks of this season, according to the Gibbs team. Interstate is JGR's longest-serving corporate partner, having been with the organization since its inception 20 years ago. These days it typically fills an associate sponsorship role, acting as primary sponsor for only about six events each year.

"As a proud member of the racing community, Mars and the M&M's brand strongly support the partnership we have with Joe Gibbs Racing and are committed to NASCAR. Yet, Kyle's recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars," Debra A. Sandler, chief consumer officer of Mars, said in a statement. "While we do not condone Kyle's recent actions, we do believe that he has shown remorse and has expressed a desire to change. We believe our decision will have a positive impact on Kyle and will help him return next season ready to win."

Busch is scheduled to address the media Friday in Phoenix at 9:30 a.m. local time. Team owner Joe Gibbs said he supported Mars' decision to split with the driver until next year. "This gives us all time to work together to foster a positive change where Kyle can continue racing in a way we can all be proud of," Gibbs said in a statement.

The Mars company isn't the only sponsor evidently unhappy with Busch -- Z-Line Designs, which is scheduled to back the No. 18 Gibbs Nationwide car next weekend at Homestead-Miami, has asked for Denny Hamlin to replace Busch in that vehicle, sources have confirmed. Busch has tried to make amends in recent days, addressing his No. 18 team before a Sprint Cup race at Texas in which Michael McDowell drove his car, issuing an open letter of apology, and speaking earlier this week over the telephone with Hornaday.

“
I think Kyle has [had] a great relationship with those guys in the past. I'm not sure where that is now ... but hopefully they can work it out.
”
-- ELLIOTT SADLERBut to M&M's, the damage was done. Perhaps no one better understands what it means to represent the Mars company than Elliott Sadler, who drove an M&M's-backed car for Robert Yates Racing from 2003-06. When he would make a misstep -- say, act a certain way in front of the television camera, or throw something at another competitor -- he said he'd receive a telephone call. "They'd never call and cuss me out," Sadler said Thursday. "They'd just remind me, 'This is what we're all about.' And you know what? I love them for it. They made me a better person."

Experiences like that give Sadler some insight into what Busch may have gone through recently. "I definitely think from being on that side of the fence that they're sitting down with him this week, I'm sure, and just kind of going through what their brand means and what it represents," he said. "I've had that talk. It's a family-run and owned business from day one, and everybody that's involved with their brand, they want them to act accordingly."

Busch's situation underscores what can sometimes be a delicate balance between drivers and sponsors, particularly if one's personality doesn't completely mesh with the others' image. When Tony Stewart struck a photographer after the race at Indianapolis in 2002, the largest fine he incurred came not from NASCAR, but Home Depot, his primary car sponsor at the time. All sponsors are image-conscious and want themselves represented in a certain way. The Mars company is among the most vigilant in that regard, Sadler said.

"I'm going to tell you what, every sponsor I've ever dealt with in this sport is image-conscious. I've got a list of them right here on my chest, and we try to play by a certain set of rules week in and week out, and try to represent their brand the best way we can. And I would take it a step further -- Mars is probably the most [image-conscious], because of the people that they're tailoring to. You've got kids looking up to you because you drive the M&M's car. That is a different set of rules on that car than on a lot of the other cars that have sponsorships in this sport," he said.

"I'm going to tell you what -- they're great people. The Mars people are awesome. They've been good to this sport, and I remember when I drove the M&M's car, they treated me and my family like I was a Mars person, big-time. I think Kyle has [had] a great relationship with those guys in the past. I'm not sure where that is now ... but hopefully they can work it out. We want and need Kyle Busch as a part of the sport. I think he's good for the fans, I think he's good for the sport. And we definitely want M&M's as a part of the sport. They're a huge sponsorship and a huge footprint. they've been a part of this sport for a long time, and we want those guys to stay around, definitely."