MBNA was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America. It was acquired by Bank of America in 2006.
Cup Series History[]
In the Cup Series, MBNA was best known for being the primary sponsor of Bill Davis Racing from 1995 through 1998, sponsoring the #22 Pontiac driven by Randy Lajoie, Jimmy Hensley, Wally Dallenbach Jr, and finally Ward Burton. They only won one race during their partnership, the 1995 AC-Delco 400 at Rockingham.
From 1999 through 2001, MBNA was featured as a primary sponsor of Bobby Labonte and the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing team during races at Dover. They also sponsored Labonte during 2 races in 2004 and 1 race in 2005, as well as 1 race for J.J. Yeley in 2004 at Atlanta.
Xfinity Series History[]
In the Xfinity Series, MBNA sponsored Ward Burton for 8 races in 1996.
In 1999, MBNA became a primary sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s #18 team, sponsoring 7 races with drivers Andy Hillenburg, J.D. Gibbs, Bobby Labonte, and Jason Leffler. In 2000, they sponsored Leffler and the #18 team for the entire season, and continued sponsoring the team in 2001 with new driver Jeff Purvis. Sponsorship issues forced Gibbs to consolidate their Busch Series program, and thus halfway through the 2001 season Mike McLaughlin replaced Purvis in the 18 car. McLaughlin continued to drive the #18 car through 2002, and in 2003 Coy Gibbs became the new driver of the #18. 2003 marked the final season for MBNA’s full time sponsorship of the #18 team, but they sponsored the car for both Dover races in 2004 with driver J.J. Yeley.
Truck Series History[]
From 2000 through 2002, MBNA sponsored Coy Gibbs and J.D. Gibbs, as they drove the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing truck.
Other Sponsorships[]
MBNA formerly sponsored NASCAR race weekends each year from 1995 to 2005 at Dover Motor Speedway. They also sponsored the “Mid-Race Leader” contingency award for the Cup Series from 2003 through 2005.