Ford Racing officials reiterated yesterday their "intention to assist Stewart-Haas Racing in ensuring Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Ford team remains on the track this season despite its sponsorship problems," according to Jim Utter of MOTORSPORT.com. SHR last week filed suit against Nature’s Bakery, Patrick’s sponsor since the beginning of last season, for "breach of contract and is seeking in excess" of $30M. The sponsor’s logo "no longer will appear on the entry of Patrick’s driver’s suit." Ford Performance Global Dir Dave Pericak said, "You have my commitment, the commitment from Stewart-Haas Racing and everyone that is involved, that it is not going to affect our ability to hit the track and run that car and run it the way it needs to run." Utter noted some limited sponsorship deals "remain in place" on Patrick's car, including from TaxAct and Mobil 1. SHR has "insisted it would continue to field four full-time teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this season" (MOTORSPORT.com, 2/6).
NATURE OF THE BEAST: In Daytona Beach, Ken Willis writes of Patrick's terminated Nature's Bakery deal, "Hate to generalize, but I'd never heard of Nature's Bakery, and that's often a bad sign when you're talking tens of millions in commitments" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/7). The Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL writes, "Forget all the details and focus on the fact Danica, one of NASCAR's top marketing machines, drives a car without a full share of corporate funding." That is "not good for anyone involved with the sport" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/7).
