Dodge says Bill Davis helped build NASCAR truck for rival Toyota
By Compiled from Times wires
Published June 4, 2003
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Dodge Motorsports is suing car owner Bill Davis for allegedly helping rival Toyota prepare for its NASCAR debut next season, a partnership that could have yielded many trade secrets for the Japanese automaker.
Dodge ended its association two weeks ago with Davis, who fields Winston Cup cars for 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and Kenny Wallace, and sued him for building Toyota a truck.
Davis, who was one of Dodge's first car owners when it returned to Winston Cup racing in 2001, received substantial factory support from Dodge and had access to sensitive information, technology advances and competitive plans.
The lawsuit, filed in Oakland County (Mich.) Circuit Court, claims Davis' employees built Toyota a truck with a Dodge engine, then installed and accompanied it to an April30 wind tunnel test in Marietta, Ga.
The suit says one or more of Davis' employees claimed to be a representative of Toyota at the test and the truck had Bill Davis Racing Co. decals on it in several places. That broke a clause in the contract that says neither Davis nor his employees can "represent, endorse, or otherwise promote the vehicles, parts or service of a DaimlerChrysler competitor."
CART: Pat Patrick, a co-founder of CART, and Mario Andretti will not seek re-election to the board of directors.
COLLEGES: More expansion possible
The eight-school Mountain West Conference voted to explore expansion possibilities. Conference directors in part want to determine if expansion could help them win a Bowl Championship Series berth or aid them with future TV contract negotiations.
ACC: Officials began a two-day visit to Syracuse and made final preparations to invite the school to leave the Big East. The group met with coaches, athletic department officials and key administrators.
BASKETBALL: Mike Deane, a former coach at Marquette among other schools, was hired as Wagner coach. ... Greg White, Marshall coach the past seven years, signed a three-year contract with Charleston, a private Division II school in West Virginia.
TRACK AND FIELD: The NCAA disqualified three who won medals at the indoor championships in March: East Carolina's Julien Dunkley (60 meters), Cal State-Northridge's Jerrick Holmes (high jump) and Nebraska's Frank Tolen (long jump). No reasons were given.
ET CETERA
CYCLING: France's Fabrice Salanson, 23, was found dead in a Dresden, Germany, hotel room by a teammate. An autopsy did not reveal the cause of death; police are investigating.
EPHEDRA: The Westchester County (N.Y.) Legislature voted to prohibit the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra, which has been blamed for deaths, heart attacks and strokes.
HORSES: Triple Crown threat Funny Cide breezed through five-eighths of a mile in 57.2 seconds in a final tuneup for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. ... Sunny's Halo, the 1983 Kentucky Derby winner, was euthanized in Tyler, Texas. The 23-year-old was found lying in his paddock by longtime handler Dwayne "Pete" Sackett, who suspected the stallion had lost all strength in his hind legs.
TRACK AND FIELD: Brazilian jumper Maureen Maggi set the best women's mark in the world this year at 23 feet, 2 inches in Milan, Italy.
