Dover International Speedway has sued the Arizona-based company that sold NASCAR souvenirs at its annual races, claiming the Dover operation was cheated out of millions of dollars in proceeds. The U.S. District Court lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. It was filed against Action Performance Companies and its subsidiary Action Sports Image. A spokesperson for the Tempe, Ariz., companies could not be reached. The Action company sold race-related merchandise out of trailers for more than 10 years through the September 2002 NASCAR race. An agreement with the Dover Speedway called for Action to pay 25 percent of each trailer’s gross proceeds or an unspecified minimum per-trailer fee, whichever was larger. Dover Speedway agreed to reduce its commission rate from 25 percent to 15 percent after Action asked to renegotiate the terms last year. Action told the raceway an economic downturn and industry standards required the reduced sales commission, which became official in May 2003.( Delaware News Journal )(11-13-2003)
