DC Solar’s move to Kyle Larson’s Cup Series car wasn’t on the up-and-up according to Brennan Poole.
The former Chip Ganassi Racing Xfinity driver has filed a suit against Chip Ganassi Racing and his former agency Spire for allegedly conspiring to take DC Solar from Poole’s Xfinity Series car to Larson’s Cup Series car.
Poole claims clauses in his Ganassi contract — primarily a two-year non-solicitation clause — prohibit the sponsorship remaining at Ganassi without Poole’s consent. The amount in damages he is seeking is not specified. He is not seeking an injunction to keep DC Solar from appearing on Larson’s Cup car, as it has this season.
According to the suit, DC Solar paid over $13 million to sponsor Poole for part of the 2015 season and the entire 2016 and 2017 Xfinity Series seasons. Poole came to CGR with the DC Solar sponsorship and the company paid over $5 million in each of the two seasons for a full-season sponsorship.
DC Solar moved to Larson’s Cup Series car in 2018 as Chip Ganassi Racing looked to fill the void left by Target, which said it was leaving motorsports after the 2017 season. The move corresponded with Ganassi Racing dropping down to one Xfinity Series car for the 2018 season. The team fielded two cars — one driven by Poole and another driven by a rotating cast of drivers including Larson — in 2016 and 2017.
Poole hasn’t driven in a NASCAR race in 2018. He had eight top-five finishes in 83 Xfinity Series starts from 2015-2017.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
