Claiming that Stewart-Haas Racing is “threatening scorched earth litigation,” Nature’s Bakery stated Thursday that it will not allow the NASCAR team to “bully us.’’
The comment marks Nature’s Bakery first response since Stewart-Haas Racing filed a lawsuit Feb. 3 against the company. Stewart-Haas Racing claims that Nature’s Bakery breached its contract in ending its sponsorship of Danica Patrick’s team last month.
Stewart-Haas Racing seeks $31.7 million from Nature’s Bakery for actual damages plus interest. Nature’s Bakery was to have sponsored Patrick’s team through the 2018 season at $15.2 million per season. Stewart-Haas Racing announced Tuesday that Aspen Dental would expand its support of Patrick’s team this season.
Nature’s Bakery responded Thursday:
“We were thrown off by SHR’s lawsuit,” Company CEO Kelly Allin said in a statement. “SHR and its owners are no stranger to aggressive litigation. Ours is a family business that repeatedly sought to resolve our issues privately. In fact, we were scheduled to meet in Charlotte just days before they sued us.
“Contrary to its image, SHR is run by big-business types that took advantage of Nature’s Bakery. They now are threatening scorched earth litigation against a multi-generational family company.We’re obviously not going to let them bully us. We may be a small brand, but we do not think what they are doing is right.We look forward to defending ourselves in court.”
In its statement, Nature’s Bakery described Stewart-Haas Racing’s lawsuit as a “false legal complaint.’’ The company also stated that “contrary to SHR statements, Nature’s Bakery remains a healthy and vibrant company.’’
Stewart-Haas Racing stated in its lawsuit that it repeatedly adjusted the payment schedule for Nature’s Bakery. The lawsuit states that “soon after executing the Sponsorship Agreement, Mr. (David) Marson and Joe Marshall (Nature’s Bakery Chief Financial Officer) reached out to SHR executives, and stated that Nature’s Bakery was having cash flow issues, and asked if the payment amounts and deadlines in the Sponsorship Agreement could be modified to assist Nature’s Bakery with its cash crunch.”
Marson, founder of Nature’s Bakery, said in a statement: “We obviously are disappointed in how things turned out, but we wish Danica Patrick and her new Ford team much success on the track this year.We are always going to be NASCAR fans and support the good works that it represents.”
Stewart-Haas Racing stated in the lawsuit that the actions of Nature’s Bakery “set SHR up for a devastating loss of revenue just before the beginning of the 2017 race season; and rendered it nearly impossible for SHR to have any reasonable hope of mitigating its damages.”
Nature’s Bakery states that it will file a “detailed response and counterclaims shortly. The filing will shed light on SHR’s conduct both during the race season and after.”
Brett Frood, president of Stewart-Haas Racing, issued a statement in response to the comments by Nature Bakery on Thursday:
“Nature’s Bakery is in material breach of its contract with Stewart-Haas Racing. It’s an unfortunate situation, but we know we’ve delivered on all aspects of our agreement and more. We took great pride in elevating the brand awareness and relevance of its products and were prepared to continue activating pursuant to the agreement in 2017 and beyond. Nature’s Bakery chose to breach and terminate the contract, leaving SHR in a very difficult position to start the 2017 season. They can file whatever they want. We’re confident with our position.”