Stewart-Haas Racing filed a $31 million breach of contract lawsuit against Nature’s Bakery on Friday. The lawsuit accuses the company of refusing to pay millions of dollars it owes the team to sponsor driver Danica Patrick through 2018.
The lawsuit states that Nature’s Bakery sent a letter to the team on Jan. 19 terminating the sponsorship agreement. It also says that the company has missed several re-scheduled deadlines to pay and is seeking $31.7 million.
Nature’s Bakery seemed to be the perfect fit for Patrick because she promotes healthy living and Nature’s Bakery does the same with its nutritious line of products. The sponsor came to Patrick after Go-Daddy left in 2015.
In a statement issued by the team on Friday, Stewart-Hass Racing emphasized that “the litigation will not impact the organization’s on-track efforts.”
Dave Pericak, the global director of Ford Performance, said on Monday during a media teleconference, that they remain committed to Stewart-Haas Racing.
“What I would say is we’re gonna let that, unfortunately, play out through the court system and see how it works out. I’m hopeful that we’re gonna come to a resolution on that, but at the end of the day what I can say is that you have my commitment and the commitment of Stewart-Haas Racing and everyone that’s involved that it is not gonna affect our ability to hit the track and run that car and run it the way that it needs to be run. I don’t really want to make any additional comments given where we are in the whole situation, and it’s very unfortunate that we’re going through it right now, but one way or another I can just tell you that you will have that 10 car on the track and it will be ready to perform.”
