Front Row Motorsports is suing its former driver Kevin Conway and his sponsor Biotab Nutraceuticals, which sells Extenze, over alleged non-payment of part of a $5.4 million sponsorship deal for Conway to drive a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car in 2010.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in North Carolina Superior Court in Charlotte.
A Front Row Motorsports spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, which asks for damages to cover the $2.754 million that will eventually be due under the terms of the contract, payment of $734,201 in sponsorship fees, hard card fees, race licenses and other expenses for services rendered and $135,000 advanced to Conway as part of his base compensation.
“It’s really unfortunate that they’ve made some pretty outrageous allegations against us and the good thing is we’ll have our day in court, and the truth will all come to light in the months ahead,” Conway said in a phone interview Tuesday. “Unfortunately, I can’t really comment on the specifics.”
According to the complaint and contracts attached as exhibits, Extenze was to pay Conway’s marketing company Exclaim $5.4 million in 50 weekly installments of $108,000, and that money was then to be sent to the race team. The $5.4 million was designed to cover the first 15 races, and then Extenze would have the option of funding the remaining 21 events through revenues generated by a product placement contract. The team would get 15 percent for product placement at dollar stores, retail stores or wholesale auto parts stores.
Conway’s base compensation, according to a contract that is an exhibit in the lawsuit, was $540,000 plus 10 percent of any other sponsorships brought in for the car. He also would get paid 15 percent of all purse money and season point fund money, with the percentage increasing to 30 percent for any top-20, 35 percent for a top-10 and 45 percent for a top-five.
Front Row was obligated to put Conway in a car that was in the top 35 in owner points, and if he failed to make the field in two consecutive races or any three during the season, the contract could be terminated.
The deal between Conway and Front Row went sour during the summer, according to the complaint, when Exclaim allegedly began paying only half of its $108,000 payments beginning June 21. Exclaim is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
“[Exclaim] represented that Biotab was experiencing cash flow problems due to the payment of a settlement to resolve an unrelated lawsuit against Biotab,” Front Row’s complaint states.
Front Row notified Conway on Aug. 8 that he would not be back in the car beginning with the Aug. 15 race at Michigan if his sponsor could not pay its $108,000 weekly fee.
Conway did not compete at Michigan but then ran the next three events for Robby Gordon Motorsports. He is scheduled to run seven of the final 10 events for RGM but will not be in the car this weekend because team owner Robby Gordon has sponsorship for the New Hampshire race.
Conway had struggled in his rookie season with three lead-lap finishes in 23 starts driving for Front Row. But as the only rookie competing fulltime, he is on pace to win the rookie award. If he ever fell 300 points behind any other rookie, he could terminate the deal with Front Row.
The lawsuit was filed by Charlotte attorney Ron Skufca, who represents the North Carolina-based Front Row Motorsports. Biotab is based in California.
“It’s somewhat of a distraction for everybody, but it’s something that will certainly be sorted out,” Conway said. “We’ll have our day in court. … It’s not interfering with our 2011 plans or the rest of 2010 in any way.
“We’re really excited about 2011 and some announcements that are going to be forthcoming next month detailing our plans. Extenze and [Biotab product] Alteril’s presence is increasing in the sport as well as my seat time for next year.”
