In one of NASCAR’s most high-profile sponsorship disputes, Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) filed a $31 million lawsuit against Nature’s Bakery in 2017. The Nevada-based fig bar company abruptly ended its sponsorship of Danica Patrick’s No. 10 car just one year into a three-year deal, creating a major financial hit for the team.
Nature’s Bakery had replaced GoDaddy as Patrick’s primary sponsor. The deal was worth about $15.2 million per year, with plans to feature the company’s logo on Patrick’s car for 28 races in 2016 and at least 25 races in both 2017 and 2018. But in January 2017, Nature’s Bakery sent a letter saying it was backing out.
Tony Stewart’s Team Fights Back Against Sponsorship Breach
Stewart-Haas Racing pushed back hard. They called Nature’s Bakery’s claims “a transparent and baseless effort to generate fictitious reasons to justify terminating the sponsorship agreement and withholding payments.”
Nature’s Bakery responded by accusing the team of failing to manage Patrick properly and being “more interested in cashing Nature’s Bakery checks than in making the sponsorship a success.” They also claimed Stewart’s team promised a spike in sales that never came.
Despite the public back-and-forth, SHR told fans the lawsuit wouldn’t affect their on-track efforts.
The lawsuit, filed in North Carolina, sought $31.7 million to cover the remaining contract years plus additional costs tied to PR and production. Court documents revealed Nature’s Bakery had financial issues not long after signing the deal, frequently requesting payment adjustments throughout 2016.
Patrick’s team was left scrambling to find new sponsors. Aspen Dental and TaxAct helped fill some of the gaps. Coming off a 2016 season where she finished 24th in the standings with no top-10 finishes, the loss of a primary sponsor added more pressure heading into 2017.
By May 2017, both sides reached a tentative settlement. They agreed to final terms and deliverables within 21 business days. The details were never made public, but the agreement allowed both Stewart-Haas Racing and Nature’s Bakery to move on.
The $31 million dispute serves as a reminder of how complex and risky sponsorship deals can be in NASCAR. It also shows how the business side of the sport can be just as intense as what happens on the track.
The Nature’s Bakery lawsuit was a turning point for Stewart-Haas Racing and a cautionary tale for teams navigating big sponsorships. While both sides eventually moved on, the dispute highlighted the unpredictable business side of NASCAR. For Patrick, it added another layer to an already challenging season, showing just how much off-track drama can impact the sport.