Speed switched from Formula 1 to NASCAR in 2007 and, according to Red Bull, failed to meet the performance clauses in his contract. The driver started the season in force, but lost momentum along the way and ended up finishing 30th in the championship.
In the complaint filed with the court, Speed says Red Bull "significantly reduced its financial commitment to Speed's race team and was unable and/or unwilling to provide with 'supporting equipment' satisfactory for a driver of his skill to be effective to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series."
The contract between Speed and Red Bull stated, according to SceneDaily, that the driver would receive salary of $300,000 in 2008, $500,000 in 2009 and $1 million in 2010, as well as 50 percent of his purse winnings for each top-10 finish, 45 percent for finishing 11th through 20th and 40 percent for finishes of 21st or worse.
"I don't know how to describe how much I think filing a lawsuit, how stupid it is and how ridiculous this is that we're doing this, but I literally have no other option," the former Red Bull driver told SceneDaily. "I have to protect myself. ... I would have been so easy to deal with if Red Bull would have just explained to me straight up and honestly what the real situation was."
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