Just a day after praising his team for allowing him to race during a year he had anticipated having off, famed NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer launches a massive lawsuit against HScott Motorsports.
Bowyer, who was planning on not racing for the 2016 season (due to his agreement to join Stewart-Hass Racing as Tony Stewart’s replacement in 2017) recently gave a statement expressing that he had no regrets with his year of racing for HScott.
“Thank God Harry Scott and his organization came along, because truth be told, I signed that deal (with Stewart-Haas) prepared to sit on the couch and wait a year. It’s been a frustrating year, but it damn sure beat sitting on the couch all year long,” He told FOX Sports.
But now, it appears that the feelings might not be that cordial between the two. A new lawsuit filing shows that Bowyer is suing his now-former team for $2.223 million after claiming that they defaulted on multiple monthly payments and commission for bringing a sponsor to the team.
As ESPN reports, the lawsuit was filed against the owner of the team, Harry Scott, and the team itself. The lawsuit, filed on November 21st, was seeking damages for “breach of contract and fraud”.
Through the lawsuit, Bowyer claims that Harry Scott has been or currently is using money he owes to Bowyer to pay other bills for the team. Additionally, he claims that Scott “repeatedly failed to make the scheduled payments” to Bowyer each month.
It has been noted that many expect Scott to shutter the entire team in the near future, and this may be reason for Bowyer to have filed the lawsuit so quickly.
The complaint reads, in part, as follows:
“[Scott and the team] are in financial distress and in negotiations with various creditors to settle substantial debts … all the while [they] refuse to pay [Bowyer] for services performed.”
A spokesman for the team spoke with ESPN about the legal proceedings and stated that they were aware of the lawsuit, adding “overall it is frivolous and capricious.”
Scott is required to maintain at least $2.223 million in property until the lawsuit is concluded as Bowyer was granted an order of attachment after allegedly discovering that Scott was “liquidating assets….with no intention of paying” – according to a statement from his attorney.
What do you think of this lawsuit?
Watch a video below of Bowyer joking around with a sports anchor after a race.