When Bubba Wallace won the YellaWood 500 earlier this month, it was a historic moment for NASCAR and McDonald’s. Wallace became the first Black Driver to win a Cup Series race in nearly 60 years. And with McDonald’s being Wallace’s sponsor, he became the first McDonald’s sponsored driver to win a Cup Series race since 1994 when Jimmy Spencer won in Daytona and Talladega in the same year.
McDonald’s has been a big part of NASCAR since the 1990s and it started with the company sponsoring NASCAR legend Bill Elliott. From 1995 to 2000, McDonald’s was Elliott’s full-year sponsor, which is the longest relationship the company had with one driver. During that time, Elliott didn’t see as many wins as he did in his earlier years but had success at the Daytona 500 when he finished in the top 10 four times.
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Spencer won the Pesi 400 and DieHard 500(now Yellwood 500) when McDonald’s was his sponsor in 1994. Those were also the only two wins for Spencer when it comes to NASCAR Cup Series races. In his career, Spencer would compete in 478 Cup Series races and record 80 top 10 finishes.
Another notable McDonald’s driver is Jamie McMurray. He began his partnership with the golden arches in 2010 and drove with a retro look in 2016. “I am excited that McDonald’s is bringing back the Mac Tonight paint scheme for this race,” McMurray said at the time. “Last year was so much fun to see all the different throwback looks that teams had for the Southern 500 race. I think that Darlington has done a great job to get so many of the teams to participate and have a unique weekend to celebrate the history of NASCAR”.
While McDonald’s does not have the NASCAR success as other sponsors, it has played a big role in the growth of racing. And for Wallace, he loves what McDonald’s has done for him during his racing career as well as giving back to the community.
“They’ve stepped up in a huge way this year in becoming one of the founding partners of our race team at 23XI racing and then also for me to be able to sign on as a mentor for the Black and Positively Golden Mentorship,” Wallace told PopCulture.com earlier this year. “I’ve really had fun with that. Myself and Rajah Caruth, giving him some pointers, another fellow African-American youngster coming up through the sport, trying to make a name for himself. Giving him all my tips and tricks and words of wisdom to help him guide his way has been really cool.”
