Ford sues Kahne

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NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne is being sued by Ford Motor Co. in Wayne County Circuit Court for allegedly breaking a contract with Robert Yates Racing to pursue a more lucrative deal to drive Dodge race cars. Kahne, 24, is the top rookie on the Nextel Cup circuit. He is 14th in the points standings after 18 races and has five top-five finishes. Ford has not yet said how much it would seek in damages, but according to a summons filed in court Friday, the breach of contract is more than $25,000. According to the lawsuit, Ford and Yates signed a contract with Kahne that required him to drive Ford cars for the team and appear in promotional activities. But last October, according to documents filed in court by the plaintiff, Kahne dropped Ford and started driving Dodges for a team owned by Ray Evernham. Kahne took over the #9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports after Bill Elliott decided to run a limited schedule this season. Kahne's lawyer, Harvey Heller, said Monday that as a policy the firm did not comment on cases involving its clients but said an answer to the charge will be filed in court later this week.(Detroit Free Press)
 
If it is true Ray will probably pay the $25,000+ and be done with it hopefully. I don't know it is that easy to do.

Is that the whole story?
 
Originally posted by Bucky Badger@Jul 13 2004, 12:36 PM
If it is true Ray will probably pay the $25,000+ and be done with it hopefully. I don't know it is that easy to do.

Is that the whole story?
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thats what I was thinking, a drop in the bucket for Evernham.
 
does yattes owns the 38 busch car??

cause i thought someone else owns it, and i thought its a dodge this year.....or am i seein things and not payin attition to the busch. (might be thinkin of a diff car also)
 
Lappy, the 38 team has nothing to do with Robert Yates.
Yates was to have a 3rd team with Kasey behind the wheel, but it never got off the ground. Kasey was without a ride and the 9 was open. Kasey and Ray won't pay a dime, but if a fine is handed down, Dodge will be happy to pay it. They are making a butt-load of money off kasey.
 
I believe one of the real kickers in Kahnes favor is last fall Yates ran a 3rd cup car at a race and they put Jason Jarrett in it instead of Kasey.
 
Originally posted by Tabasco@Jul 13 2004, 07:07 PM
yep, that let him know where he stood with Robert.
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But, if he signed a legal contract with Yates, that argument won't hold up in a court.

BTW, what's Elliott Sadler''s car number? Isn't he a Yates driver?
 
Yes DE_W, but I read that Kasey's contract said "if" a car was available it would be his. Also that if another ride was offered to him, Ford would put him in an equivilent ride. Which there was none available unless they fired another Ford driver.
Yes Akins Motorsports was a Ford team last year, and they have switched to Dodges this year. Which is almost as confusing to me as Bill Elliot switching to Dodges, he owned a Ford Dealership. Akins also owns (or owned) a Ford Dealership in Winder GA.
 
Ford dropped the ball, and did not hold their end of the contract.
When Bill went to a dodge ride, that was unbeliveable. And with Ray being a big Pepsi guy to boot. Dodge passed out some major bucks to get him.
Just wait until Toyota comes in and starts throwing $$ around.
 
Originally posted by DE_Wrangler_2@Jul 13 2004, 09:23 PM

BTW, what's Elliott Sadler''s car number?  Isn't he a Yates driver?
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Elliott drives for Yates. He drives the 38 M&M's car.
 
Originally posted by hurrikahne9+Jul 13 2004, 09:51 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (hurrikahne9 @ Jul 13 2004, 09:51 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--DE_Wrangler_2@Jul 13 2004, 09:23 PM

BTW, what's Elliott Sadler''s car number?  Isn't he a Yates driver?
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Elliott drives for Yates. He drives the 38 M&M's car. [/b][/quote]
Actually I knew that. :D I was being flippant about someones post earlier about Yates not having anything to do with the 38. But, then a little later I reread the whole part leading up to that post........they were talking about Busch. My bad.........I was hoping no one would notice. :blink:
 
Originally posted by DE_Wrangler_2+Jul 14 2004, 12:11 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (DE_Wrangler_2 @ Jul 14 2004, 12:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by -hurrikahne9@Jul 13 2004, 09:51 PM
<!--QuoteBegin--DE_Wrangler_2
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@Jul 13 2004, 09:23 PM

BTW, what's Elliott Sadler''s car number?  Isn't he a Yates driver?
Click to expand...

Elliott drives for Yates. He drives the 38 M&M's car.
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Actually I knew that. :D I was being flippant about someones post earlier about Yates not having anything to do with the 38. But, then a little later I reread the whole part leading up to that post........they were talking about Busch. My bad.........I was hoping no one would notice. :blink: [/b][/quote]
I like an honest guy. :cheers: :cheers:
 
dodge is benefitting from the time and money f**d put into kasey...so, dodge should pay them the chump change they're asking for, which is just what they feel they spent on kahne that they didn't get benefits from...they aren't asking for every dime they invested in him, just what they already spent on goods that weren't delivered...the way i understand things based off a few different sources.

the funny thing is, they switched kasey from open wheels to stock cars because they didn't need an open wheel development driver for cart after they became the only engine supplier...now cart is history, owrs is on shakey ground, and the rumor mills are buzzing with some sort of penske/irl/cosworth reshuffling that might require f**d to get back into indy car driver development. but they no longer have kahne, who is obviously VERY talented.
 
Originally posted by Eagle1@Jul 13 2004, 10:36 PM
Yes Akins Motorsports was a Ford team last year, and they have switched to Dodges this year. Which is almost as confusing to me as Bill Elliot switching to Dodges, he owned a Ford Dealership. Akins also owns (or owned) a Ford Dealership in Winder GA.
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Bill was a partner in a Ford dealer. His name was on the store. He sold it before he went with Dodge.

Akins is still a big Ford dealer in Winder, Ga. I always understood that the son does the racing and the Dad did the Ford dealer, but I could be wrong.

I guess Ford wanted to sue Kahne to show they expected the drivers under contract to respect the legal system?? I guess they are getting tired of losing great drivers to other teams.
 
Originally posted by 95cobraR+Jul 15 2004, 10:36 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (95cobraR @ Jul 15 2004, 10:36 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Eagle1@Jul 13 2004, 10:36 PM
Yes Akins Motorsports was a Ford team last year, and they have switched to Dodges this year. Which is almost as confusing to me as Bill Elliot switching to Dodges, he owned a Ford Dealership. Akins also owns (or owned) a Ford Dealership in Winder GA.
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Bill was a partner in a Ford dealer. His name was on the store. He sold it before he went with Dodge.

Akins is still a big Ford dealer in Winder, Ga. I always understood that the son does the racing and the Dad did the Ford dealer, but I could be wrong.

I guess Ford wanted to sue Kahne to show they expected the drivers under contract to respect the legal system?? I guess they are getting tired of losing great drivers to other teams. [/b][/quote]
I could understand their frustration considering the guys they let slip right through their fingers. Kyle Busch was supposed to drive for Roush too and they let him slip away. Maybe Ford needs to step up to the plate and start providing these guys with quality rides and they wouldn't be losing them.

You know, If You Snooze You Lose.
 
kinda hard to recruit drivers when all they have to work with is about 3 or 4 cup teams performing well at any given time...and all the best seats are taken already.
 
Kahne's attorneys rip Ford in response

(ThatsRacin)

The Charlotte Observer


Attorneys for Kasey Kahne said Thursday that a Ford Motor Co. lawsuit against Kahne is "a thinly veiled and desperate publicity stunt to distract NASCAR fans from the widely reported failures of its own racing program."
The Ford suit, filed in a Michigan court, called for more than $25,000 in damages, alleging that Kahne broke a contract with Ford in signing a deal to drive the No. 9 Dodges owned by Ray Evernham in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

"Ford is hoping to deflect the public embarrassment of Kahne's meteoric success after Ford squandered an opportunity to have Kahne drive with a Ford-sponsored team in the Nextel Cup," the response said.

Ford alleges that Kahne had a contract with Robert Yates Racing before bolting for the Evernham team's ride. Kahne is a rookie in the Cup series this season.

The response alleges that the 2002 agreement was a personal-services contract and was not and was never intended to be an enforceable contract for his driving services.
 
i just had a thought...dodge could allow kasey to do whatever personal service they want him to do, since it's not a 'driver service' contract..."hi, i'm kasey kahne, nextel cup rookie. before setting the racing world on fire, i drove a f**d. while i wasn't nearly as competitive as i am now, i learned a lot while i was driving their cars. so remember, while f**ds might not be as good as dodges, they are good enough to learn the fundamentals of racing."

hey, at least he would be available for f**d so he wouldn't be renegging on his personal services contract...

(disclaimer, especially for someone on this board that has e-mailed me...this is just a thought, and should not be taken as a lack of understanding on how nascare and/or car manufacturers work...)
 
FORD is grasping at straws here, Everham probably will make an example of them and squash this pretty quickly. Sounds to me like FORD is crying sour grapes.
 
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