- Oct 9, 1999
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http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=6087
DaimlerChrysler has filed suit against Bill Davis Racing, which races for Dodge in NASCAR, for allegedly moonlighting for Toyota.
The suit alleges at least one member of Davis's team recently represented Toyota at a NASCAR wind tunnel test in Marietta, Ga., and that NASCAR officials performed aerodynamic tests on a Toyota truck prototype that bore decals from Davis' team and was powered by a Dodge engine.
Davis's contract with the automaker stipulates Davis and his team to can only "represent, endorse or otherwise promote" Dodge products.
Dodge officials were irate, considering the prototype was for Toyota's Tundra, which the Japanese company is racing in the Craftsman Series next year as a linchpin in a stepped-up marketing plan for the pickup next year in advance of Toyota building a second truck plant in Texas. Dodge's Ram truck is seen as especially vulnerable to greater Tundra volume because it attracts a greater percentage of import car buyers to its trucks than GM or Ford.
The suit, filed in a Michigan state circuit court, doesn't ask for a specific dollar amount in damages. DaimlerChrysler pays its designated "factory" teams an annual sum believed to be in the low seven-figure range. The suit estimates that Davis' team has spent only 50-60 percent of this year's money, and asks for the remainder to be repaid.