NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR: SHR Suing Danica Patrick's Primary Sponsor
NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR: SHR Suing Danica Patrick's Primary Sponsor

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:44 p.m. ET

Usually when the final weeks are counting down before the start of the next NASCAR season drivers and teams are in the midst of finalizing deals with sponsors. Stewart-Haas Racing is currently in the processing of suing one of their drivers current sponsors, or soon-to-be former sponsors.

According a recent article from Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press, Stewart-Haas Racing has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Nature’s Bakery. Nature’s Bakery took over as the primary sponsor of Danica Patrick and the No. 10 team in 2016 following the departure of GoDaddy from NASCAR.  According to the report and the lawsuit, Nature’s Bakery owes the team millions of dollars in sponsorship money which they are refusing to pay.

The lawsuit filed Friday in state superior court indicates Nature’s Bakery had cash flow issues not long after signing its sponsorship agreement and asked to rework the payment schedule on the more than $15 million the company owes the team each season. SHR also accused the company of eventually concocting “a scheme to avoid further payments” by claiming Patrick had been endorsing competing products and was not using her social media presence enough to promote Nature’s Bakery.

The suit says Nature’s Bakery sent a letter to the team on Jan. 19 terminating the sponsorship agreement, and that the company has missed several scheduled deadlines to pay.

2017 would have been the second year of a three-year deal that Nature’s Bakery had signed with SHR ahead of the 2016 NASCAR season. Reports say that Nature’s Bakery was supposed to be the primary sponsor of the No. 10 machine for 10 races in 2017. One would have to assume that a similar number of races would have been on tap for the 2018 season as well.

Nature’s Bakery pulling their sponsorship via letter on January 19th would explain why Patrick and SHR have reportedly been having an issue filling her sponsorship slate for the 2017 season. If Nature’s Bakery is truly out, which seems to be the case, Patrick might have a hard time piecing together sponsorship for 20 new races quickly.

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Reports from last week also suggested that Clint Bowyer and the No. 14 team were also having issues filling their sponsorship slate for the 2017 season. Needless to say the issues with Nature’s Bakery could not have come at a worse time for the organization with the NASCAR season right around the corner.

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