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 M&M's would replace Interstate Batteries, which has sponsored Gibbs' flagship No. 18 since its 1992 inception.
J.D. Gibbs, president of the race team, didn't respond to a request for comment. But two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mars was working on a deal to sponsor Busch that will be officially announced next month at M&M's World in New York City. They requested anonymity because the deal was not yet complete.
The sponsorship would be a financial upgrade at JGR, which first partnered with Interstate 16 years ago. Interstate chairman Norm Miller is a close friend of Gibbs', and Miller funded the No. 18 to help Gibbs launch what was then a single-car team. Bobby Labonte drove the car to a Cup championship in 2000.
But JGR rapidly expanded into a three-car operation, and Interstate could not financially compete with the big budgets of new Gibbs sponsors Home Depot and FedEx. But Gibbs continued to work with the company out of loyalty, even as Interstate began selling off races to other sponsors.
When the team signed Busch in August, Miller attended the announcement and said he was prepared to sponsor the car in 2008.
"We're on the contract for '08, but we are also open to develop some type of partnership," he said. "We're hoping to get the best we can out of it all, and come up with a good partner. But if push comes to shove, we'd be delighted to ride with Kyle here through the whole season.
"Cards are kind of up in the air right now. They're going to settle down here hopefully like within a month that we'll know exactly where we stand."
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Interstate is expected to stay involved with JGR in a smaller role.
But when preparations for Busch's arrival began, JGR determined it needed a bigger budget to prepare for the 22-year-old championship contender. He's leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of this season and will join two-time series champion Tony Stewart and title contender Denny Hamlin to give Gibbs a powerful three-car threat.
JGR is also ending its 16-year association with General Motors at the end of this season and will field Toyotas beginning next year.
It will make the move with three lucrative sponsors as Mars moves its M&M's brand away from Robert Yates Racing and rookie David Gilliland. It's unclear what the company will do with its Snickers sponsorship on Yates' second car, but the move to JGR is troublesome to the Yates organization.
The struggling team has been trying to restructure all season, and longtime owner Robert Yates said earlier this month that he plans to retire at the end of the season. He's handing over the company to his son, Doug, who plans to call it Yates Racing and field cars for Gilliland and Travis Kvapil.
Yates Racing will have a close association with Roush Fenway Racing beginning next season, and Roush's marketing arm could certainly help Yates secure sponsorship.
[Associated Press;
by Jenna Fryer]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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