NASCAR

Former NASCAR owner forced to pay MILLIONS as US court make decisive ruling

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson Wednesday 22 January 2025 00:00

Former NASCAR owner forced to pay MILLIONS as US court make decisive ruling

Former NASCAR team owner Ron Devine has been told he must pay out $31 million in a court ruling.

Devine is the former owner of BK Racing — a Cup Series team that filed for bankruptcy ahead of the Daytona 500 at the beginning of the 2018 season.

Later that year, U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge J. Craig Whitley approved the sale of the BK Racing charter and most of the team's assets for $2.08 million to Front Row Motorsports. As a result, FRM became a three-car team.

However, therein lies the problem. Despite the sale being approved, the trustee handling their bankruptcy case claimed that they were in fact the ones that owned the charter.

BK Racing opened in 2012 and shut in 2018

US Court of Appeal upholds NASCAR lawsuit

A court ruling in 2022 agreed with them, too, with Devine having been ordered to pay $31M to the trustee, with the money going to banks that issued loans to the team, the IRS, former employees, and others still owed money.

Devine appealed this decision, and the outcome of that process has now been completed, with the US Court of Appeal affirming the original 2022 judgment.

As per NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass, the ruling read: "The bankruptcy court exhibited extraordinary patience in the face of Appellants’ egregious conduct. This Court will not condone such blatant disregard for the judicial process."

These are not the only problems that Devine has faced. In October 2023, federal charges were also filed against the former BK Racing owner.

On that occasion, Devine was indicted on four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes.

Front Row Motorsports Indy 500 Daytona 500