Ty Gibbs carries Kyle Busch tribute in yellow No. 54 at Bristol
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026
Ty Gibbs tribute
Joe Gibbs Racing has rolled out a one-off yellow M&M’S paint scheme on Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota at Bristol Motor Speedway, turning the car into a tribute to Kyle Busch and his long run with the team. The design leans into the yellow M&M’S look that Busch made famous during his time at Joe Gibbs Racing. It also serves as a nod to a partnership that ran for 15 years and helped define a major stretch of Busch’s Cup Series career. Busch won two NASCAR Cup Series titles in that span and became closely tied to the yellow car, making the Bristol tribute an easy fit for the organization and its history.
The tribute also carries a strong team message. Joe Gibbs Racing president Dave Alpern said the car reflected the lasting relationship between the team, Mars Inc. and Busch’s family, and that connection shaped both the look and the purpose of the scheme. The Busch family helped with the design, giving the livery a personal touch that tied the car back to the driver it honored. That connection matters because the tribute is not built as a simple throwback. It is built to recognize a long partnership, a run of success and the role Busch played in giving the yellow M&M’S car a permanent place in NASCAR memory.
Busch family legacy
The car’s graphics tell Busch’s story in pictures. The design includes photos celebrating his career, among them his first Joe Gibbs Racing contract, his first win with the team, his wedding and Brexton Busch celebrating his victories. That turns Gibbs’ car into more than a one-race paint scheme. It becomes a rolling scrapbook of Busch’s years at Joe Gibbs Racing and the family moments that came with them. Samantha Busch, Brexton Busch and Lennix Busch got their first look at the tribute car before the race, and Brexton helped roll Gibbs’ car to the hauler at Joe Gibbs Racing, a small moment that matched the family feel built into the livery.
The Bristol tribute also connects to Busch’s record at the track. He won nine Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway, along with nine O’Reilly/Xfinity Series races and five Truck Series races there. That history makes Bristol a fitting place for the tribute, since the track has long been part of Busch’s success and his identity in NASCAR. The one-off scheme also arrived after M&M’S ended its NASCAR sponsorship with Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2022 season and after Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023. Even with those changes, the connection between Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing and the yellow car still carries weight. Ty Gibbs said he would like to see M&M’S return to NASCAR beyond this race, a comment that underscored how much the brand still means to the team and its fans.
Bristol race day
Bristol Motor Speedway plans its own salute around the car. The track intends to hand out yellow tribute towels and hold a Lap 18 tribute, adding a layer of ceremony to the weekend. Mars family members are expected to attend the race as part of the tribute atmosphere, giving the event an added connection to the company that backed Busch’s signature paint scheme for so many years. The tribute is timed to stand out at one of NASCAR’s most recognizable tracks, where presentation and history often blend into the racing itself. In this case, the car, the towels and the lap tribute all point to the same idea, a recognition of Busch’s impact and the long reach of the yellow M&M’S car.
For Gibbs, the race carries both history and current stakes. He enters Bristol sixth in the standings and 51 points behind Denny Hamlin, while also coming off a spring Cup race win at Bristol earlier in 2026. That gives the weekend a dual focus for him, honoring a former Joe Gibbs Racing star while also trying to add another strong result of his own. The tribute car places him in the center of one of NASCAR’s better-known family and sponsor stories, but the points race keeps the competition front and center. Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing use Bristol to salute Busch’s legacy, celebrate the people around him and keep their own season moving at the same time.
