M&M’s Pulls Kyle Busch Sponsorship For Final Races Of 2011; Will Return In 2012

Kyle Busch has lost sponsor M&M’s for the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races of this season due to his actions at Texas, but will still race at Phoenix and Homestead thanks to sponsorship from Interstate Batteries.

M&M’s isn’t breaking up with Busch for good, though. The company will return to sponsor Busch next season after sending what it believes is a strong message to Busch not to screw up again.

In a statement released shortly after 9:30 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday night, Mars (which owns M&M’s) said Busch’s relationship with the company is dependent on no future incidents taking place.

Busch came under fire after intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. during last week’s Camping World Truck Series race and was parked for the weekend by NASCAR, then later fined.

Mars, though, felt that wasn’t enough.

“Kyle’s recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars,” a company official 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.”

Team owner Joe Gibbs said the team “strongly supports Mars’ decision.”

“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,” he said.

Busch will address the NASCAR media as the first scheduled driver availability session on Friday morning.