DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - DaimlerChrysler won its breach of contract lawsuit against Bill Davis Racing on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit and was awarded $6.5 million in damages.DaimlerChrysler claimed BDR, based in High Point, N.C., violated the terms of a six-year contract in 2003 by passing confidential information to Toyota. The suit said Davis was helping the Japanese automaker develop a prototype Tundra truck for competition in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series.
At the time, Davis was under contract to prepare Dodge entries in the NASCAR Winston Cup – now Nextel Cup – Series.
There was no immediate comment from BDR, which countersued and was seeking $8.5 million to $9.8 million from DaimlerChrysler for breach of contract.
"We are pleased the jury found that Davis breached it's contrast with DaimlerChrysler by transferring confidential information to Toyota and by entering into an agreement to develop a Nextel Cup race vehicle," said Judith Pickering, assistant general counsel for DaimlerChrysler.
BDR is fielding two Dodge entries this season for drivers Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney, and has already announced plans to field two Toyota entries in the Cup Series in 2007.
