M&M’S were first introduced in 1941 by Forrest Mars, Sr., who got the idea for the candy after observing soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell during the Spanish Civil War. The candy was made with a hard shell so the soldiers could carry it during warm weather, the hard shell making it more difficult for the chocolate to melt.
Some 80 years later, the M&M’S brand has stood the test of time, and the popular candy has branched out in recent years with many successful flavors such as M&M’S Caramel, M&M’S Fudge Brownie, and countless other favorites. Most recently. M&M’S introduced M&M’S MIX, which combines three different flavors of M&M’S in one bag as the brand celebrates its eight decades of existence in 2021.
When it comes to active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Kyle Busch has also stood the test of time. In fact, with his win this past Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City with the M&M’S MIX colors riding along on his No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), the two-time Cup Series champion extended an impressive streak of 17 straight seasons scoring at least one victory in NASCAR’s top series. Even more impressive is that Busch’s streak tied NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson at second on the all-time consecutive years with a win list, and puts him just one behind the all-time record of 18 consecutive years with a win set by another Hall of Famer, Richard Petty. Busch will have a chance to tie Petty’s record with a win in 2022.
Before he thinks about being able to sit alongside “The King” in the record books, the Las Vegas native has plenty of work to do this season. His attention will now turn to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for Sunday’s Cup Series Goodyear 400. He’ll look to make it back-to-back wins in his No. 18 M&M’S 80th Anniversary paint scheme during the historic South Carolina track’s annual NASCAR Throwback Weekend.
Busch, who now has 58 career wins in NASCAR’s top series, has won consecutive races six times in his 17 fulltime seasons. The M&M’S driver won back-to-back in 2008 at Daytona and Chicagoland, in 2015 at Kentucky and New Hampshire, in 2016 at Martinsville and Texas, in 2017 at New Hampshire and Dover, in 2018 at Texas, Bristol and Richmond, and in 2019 at Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway.
As Busch and the M&M’S 80th Anniversary team head back Darlington, they return to a place where they’ve won before and Busch has enjoyed recent success. The Las Vegas native has conquered “The Track Too Tough To Tame” with a Cup Series win in May 2008. It earned him the distinction of being the youngest Cup Series winner – at 23 years of age – in the track’s storied history. Busch also has two Xfinity Series wins at Darlington, coming in May 2011 and 2013.
Last year, the Cup Series competed three times at Darlington after the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a revamped 2020 schedule, and Busch brought home best runs of second place in the Wednesday-night race in May, and a seventh-place run in Labor Day Weekend’s Southern 500.
So as Busch heads back to the track known as the “Lady in Black” this weekend, he’ll look to add another Darlington win to his resume his seventh set of back-to-back wins during a career that has no doubt stood the test of time.
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