Nature’s Bakery on Thursday announced intentions to countersue NASCAR team Stewart-Haas Racing over its Danica Patrick sponsorship issue. SHR sued Nature’s Bakery earlier this month for breach of contract after the Nevada-based fig bar maker sent a note to SHR in mid-January saying it was going to terminate its three-year sponsorship deal worth $15.2M annually. In a sharply worded press release, Nature’s Bakery called SHR’s suit a “false legal complaint.” Nature's Bakery CEO Kelly Allin said, "They now are threatening scorched earth litigation against a multi-generational family company. We’re obviously not going to let them bully us." The loss of Nature’s Bakery has left SHR with around 20 races to fill heading into the season, but that effort was helped with this week’s announcement that Aspen Dental was stepping up its commitment with Patrick’s No. 10 Ford from four races to at least 10 (Adam Stern, Staff Writer). The AP's Mark Long noted Nature’s Bakery "took issue with Patrick using Instagram to promote Six Star Pro Nutrition protein powder, Purely Inspired protein, homemade energy balls, a homemade spinach smoothie and other home-cooked items including ice cream and grilled cheese." SHR "maintained that none of those items competed with Nature’s Bakery products and that the company had 'liked' most of the Instagram posts." SHR said that Nature’s Bakery "had not complained about the Instagram posts until it began missing payments" (AP, 2/16).
