D
DJFan
Guest
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Attorneys for Jimmy Spencer have filed a lawsuit in Mecklenburg County Superior Court seeking damages from Chip Ganassi, Spencer's former Winston Cup car owner, for breach of contract and interference with Spencer's racing career.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, seeks $600,000 for the difference between the salary Spencer says he was to be paid for 2003, the second year of his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, and what he is to make this year as the driver for Ultra Motorsports.
Spencer drove the No. 41 Dodges owned by Ganassi last season, but says he was told over the telephone on or about Nov. 5, 2002, that he was fired. Casey Mears will drive the No. 41 cars in the 2003 season.
The lawsuit also charges that Ganassi made an agreement to monetarily assist James Finch, the owner of a Busch series team for which Spencer drove 23 races last year, with fielding Finch's Busch team for 2003. Part of the terms for that agreement, the lawsuit alleges, was for Finch not to employ Spencer as a driver this year.
The suit seeks damages of no less than $10,000 for Spencer for his lost opportunity for employment with Finch. It also seeks payment of money Spencer says he is owed for souvenir and collectibles sales for the third and fourth quarters of 2002.
The lawsuit offers a rare glimpse at the details of a Winston Cup driver's contract, spelling out the terms of Spencer's employment with Ganassi's team.
In 2002, Spencer's base salary was $1 million payable in 12 monthly installments of $83,333.33. He also received 45 percent of the prize money Spencer earned driving the car. Additionally, the team was to pay up to $35,000 per year in premiums for disability insurance for Spencer. His salary would have gone up to $1.1 million this year.
The contract also included bonuses of $25,000 per race victory, $12,500 per second-place finish, $6,250 per third-place finish and $5,000 per pole. Spencer would have earned $25,000 bonuses for winning either the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Texas 500 or Las Vegas 500 or the pole for the Brickyard 400. He also could have earned an additional $100,000 bonus for winning four races in a season or for winning the Winston Cup championship.
************
Ya suppose his attorneys told him to make sure to keep the fight in the courtroom and not on the track?
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, seeks $600,000 for the difference between the salary Spencer says he was to be paid for 2003, the second year of his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, and what he is to make this year as the driver for Ultra Motorsports.
Spencer drove the No. 41 Dodges owned by Ganassi last season, but says he was told over the telephone on or about Nov. 5, 2002, that he was fired. Casey Mears will drive the No. 41 cars in the 2003 season.
The lawsuit also charges that Ganassi made an agreement to monetarily assist James Finch, the owner of a Busch series team for which Spencer drove 23 races last year, with fielding Finch's Busch team for 2003. Part of the terms for that agreement, the lawsuit alleges, was for Finch not to employ Spencer as a driver this year.
The suit seeks damages of no less than $10,000 for Spencer for his lost opportunity for employment with Finch. It also seeks payment of money Spencer says he is owed for souvenir and collectibles sales for the third and fourth quarters of 2002.
The lawsuit offers a rare glimpse at the details of a Winston Cup driver's contract, spelling out the terms of Spencer's employment with Ganassi's team.
In 2002, Spencer's base salary was $1 million payable in 12 monthly installments of $83,333.33. He also received 45 percent of the prize money Spencer earned driving the car. Additionally, the team was to pay up to $35,000 per year in premiums for disability insurance for Spencer. His salary would have gone up to $1.1 million this year.
The contract also included bonuses of $25,000 per race victory, $12,500 per second-place finish, $6,250 per third-place finish and $5,000 per pole. Spencer would have earned $25,000 bonuses for winning either the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Texas 500 or Las Vegas 500 or the pole for the Brickyard 400. He also could have earned an additional $100,000 bonus for winning four races in a season or for winning the Winston Cup championship.
************
Ya suppose his attorneys told him to make sure to keep the fight in the courtroom and not on the track?
