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Nature's Bakery makes Michael Jordan analogy in Danica Patrick counterclaim

Danica Patrick drove the Nature’s Bakery car for just one season. (Getty)
Danica Patrick drove the Nature’s Bakery car for just one season. (Getty)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nature’s Bakery alleges Danica Patrick’s agreement with a nutritional supplement company conflicted with the company’s agreement with Stewart-Haas Racing, and is grounds for immediate termination.

The company filed its counterclaims to Stewart-Haas Racing’s breach of contract lawsuit Friday. Nature’s Bakery alleges in the 58-page filing that SHR didn’t inform the team of a personal services deal Patrick has with Six Star Nutrition when pitching Patrick’s NASCAR sponsorships to the company before the deal was signed.

Nature’s Bakery believes that since Six Star products include protein bars in the “on the go” snack category, Patrick’s deal with the company conflicted with her role as a spokesperson for the fig bar and brownie maker.

“It was as if Michael Jordan decided to wear adidas while being paid by Nike,” the suit said.

The counterclaim contends Patrick didn’t promote the company enough via her social media accounts. According to the claim, Patrick made 46 mentions of the company on her three social media channels. Patrick last mentioned Nature’s Bakery on her Instagram account in June. There are at least seven pictures and/or mentions of the company on her account throughout the 2016 season.

Oh lookie what I found here in small town Vermont!!! @naturesbakery

A post shared by Danica Patrick (@danicapatrick) on Jun 15, 2016 at 4:41pm PDT

The company posited itself as a perfect fit for Patrick’s healthy lifestyle and kicked off the sponsorship last season at Daytona with a media yoga session.

Let's do some yoga @the_southern_yogi! @naturesbakery #healthylifestyle

A post shared by Danica Patrick (@danicapatrick) on Feb 17, 2016 at 6:49am PST

Nature’s Bakery also alleges that it was “promised” a four-fold return on its $15 million investment with the team.

Stewart-Haas Racing claims Nature’s Bakery owes the team over $30 million in payments for 2017 and 2018 after the two signed a three-year deal for the company to replace GoDaddy as Patrick’s primary sponsor.

SHR filed its suit against the company after Nature’s Bakery ended the agreement between the two parties in January. According to the Nature’s Bakery side of the story, it concluded the relationship because it realized six months into the agreement that it “was not working” due to issues it had with the team and Patrick’s role as a product ambassador.

The company’s departure from the team also creates a massive sponsorship hole at Stewart-Haas Racing. The team has open races on both Patrick and Clint Bowyer’s cars for the 2017 season and co-owner Gene Haas’ machine tool company is a half-season sponsor on Kurt Busch’s car.

After the feud between the two organizations went public, Aspen Dental became Patrick’s “lead sponsor” and will sponsor her in the Daytona 500.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!