MB2 and McDonald’s in 2003? The MB2 team, which will lose long-time sponsor M&M Mars to [Robert] Yates after this season, is looking for new backing but does not seem to be in a panic. GM Jay Frye says several major companies are inquiring, and that the sponsor environment is full-speed-ahead. He admits, however, that sponsorship to replace M&Ms may not become available until later in the year, making the possibility of keeping the present group together chancy. Frye noted that the M&Ms deal, with his team since 1996, would kick up by about $5m in proceeding to the Yates level, which would suggest a bank account at about $16m for Yates. One of the companies mentioned as interested is McDonalds, which backed Junior Johnson in the early 1990s. Reportedly, former McDonald’s racing advisers (that’s the imperial plural) have been rehired as consultants, with an eye to a re-up.(Speed Channel)(8-4-2002)
