Home

NASCAR

“This Kid Who’s Troubled Could Be My Son”: Kyle Busch Insider Reveals Why His $20 Million-a-Year M&M Deal Earned Him an Early Fanbase

Published 03/05/2023, 6:01 AM EST

Follow Us

via Imago

Kyle Busch has always been portrayed as the bad boy of NASCAR. More often than not, his outspoken nature and aggression have not gone in his favor. Nevertheless, that does not change the fabulous driver that he is. Winning two Cup Series championships is no joke. And it wouldn’t have all been possible had M&M’s not come ahead to sponsor him and Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008.

Mars, Inc. had been involved in NASCAR for 32 years until they decided to exit last year. This was the buckling point of the relationship between Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch, which eventually saw both parties part ways. However, M&M’s played a key role in Busch’s career and it was more than just being his sponsor.

Kyle Busch Insider discloses unknown details of the M&M’s deal

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Busch’s documentary Rowdy was originally released last year in June. It was re-released on a streaming platform earlier this year on February 3 and it saw several unknown details come to light. The documentary’s executive producer and Busch’s close friend Derek recently revealed the thought process and other behind-the-scenes information.

Rowdy’s deal with M&M’s was valued at around $20 million per year. In a conversation with “Awful Announcing,” Derek explained how an analysis of Rowdy’s fanbase revealed a key demographic. He said, “And I’d say the majority of the Kyle fans were moms. And when I asked that question, they were like, ‘That could have been my son. This kid who’s troubled could be my son, and I want to help figure it out for him.’

“That was in the beginning when Kyle was first signed with M&M’s Racing. They had all these demographics of people who see he’s a kid that gets in a little bit of trouble here and there, but they believe is a good kid.

“And Kyle is a good kid. Two things going for him is that he is a passionate racer and that he wants to be known as the best racecar driver ever.” Busch certainly has come a long way from there and still remains in the hunt for more success.

Rowdy highlights Busch’s struggles

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NASCAR stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

The documentary delves deep into Busch’s early days as a racer. Derek explained how it was made clear to Busch at the onset that the documentary would focus more on his struggles as a kid.

He said, “I think that’s the biggest challenge we had with him coming into it was he was like, ‘Well, I want to tell my story,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, we aren’t going to tell your story. But we’re going to tell a story about a kid.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“‘You had to overcome all of these challenges, you don’t come from a wealthy family like most of these racecar drivers do. You had to really build everything yourself, and then you had to kind of like figure it out yourself.'” 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Busch’s struggles at an early age have molded him into the exceptional driver that he is. It is a pity that he had to part ways with M&M’s and Joe Gibbs Racing. But with the start he has had at Richard Childress Racing, it certainly doesn’t look that bad a move.

WATCH THIS STORY: “I Look Forward to That”—Coming Out of Retirement, Kyle Busch Keen to Use His “Expertise” in New Partnership

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Priyank Mithani

456Articles

One take at a time

Priyank Mithani is a NASCAR writer at Essentially Sports. Having completed his graduation degree in Engineering, he pursued a career in the Media & Entertainment industry. With a zeal to write creative content, he started his journey as a freelancer.
Show More>

Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal