Union Bank & Trust vs BK Racing – NASCAR Charter dispute
Front Row Motorsports recently purchased a charter from BK Racing. They just paid $2 million to have the charter in place ahead of the 2017 season. The charter was then leased to TriStar Motorsports for 2017. NASCAR allows teams to lease a charter, for one year. In 2018, Front Row Motorsports would need to use the charter for an in house machine.
Union Bank & Trust in Virginia has issued a lawsuit, filed in North Carolina Superior Court. Union Bank & Trust is using the court system in an attempt to declare ownership of the charter.
The court documents claim that BK Racing owes UB&T $9.1 million. They claim two charters were used as collateral for loans. BK Racing currently holds ownership of the other charter in question, it was used for the #23 car.
Bojangles’ Southern 500
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC USA
Friday 1 September 2017
Corey LaJoie, BK Racing, Dr Pepper Toyota Camry
World Copyright: John K Harrelson / Harrelson Photography Inc.
If the court rules in favor of the bank, it would likely effect the starting grid in 2018. Front Row Motorsports might be required to hand over ownership of their purchased charter. The bank could then sell the charter to a different team or the same team.
BK Racing owner Ron Devine says the amount they owe is closer to $8 million.
“They wanted to make a big stink about it so that we would react and do stuff that we don’t want to do with them,” Devine told Bob Pockrass of ESPN. “We’re working on it. I actually have an agreement with them in place.
“They’re not going to stop until we finish, but we have an agreement that will get us cleaned back up.”
Ron Devine states the #83 charter that was sold to Front Row Motorsports will not be transferred to the bank. He says that was charter No. 33 of the 36 charters NASCAR issued. No 33 was not used on bank documents, according to Devine.
Devine states the bank is not going to own a race team, nor will they win the rights to either of these charters. The BK Racing owner stated land and other property was used as collateral.
“It’s not that that big a deal,” Devine said. “They’re not going to go racing in Daytona. … If you really believe that this bank is going to get these charters, then the Martians are going to land in your front yard.”
Liens of $667,630 for unpaid federal taxes have been issued by the IRS. The state of North Carolina has filed liens of $273,742. In addition, a separate lawsuit has been filed by a man from California.
