BK Racing has not been an active NASCAR Cup team since 2018, but that hasn't stopped former primary owner Ron Devine from making the news.
The 67-year-old former NASCAR owner whose BK Racing fielded cars from 2012 until 2018, has been indicted on federal charges for four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office from the Western District of North Carolina.
Devine filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for his team right before the 2018 Daytona 500, thus bringing about the of BK Racing. It was during that time that an unnamed bank was preparing to begin court proceedings to take over control of them and prevent Devine from selling or leasing the team's charter.
As it turns out, the team's charter and assets were eventually sold in bankruptcy court for $2.98 million dollars, which Front Row Motorsports later purchased.
The allegations levied against Devine identify him as in control of BK Racing's financial affairs as the team's owner and president. The indictment alleges that, beginning in 2012, Devine failed to account for and pay its payroll taxes.
The indictment also alleges that Devine failed to pay $390,000 in payroll taxes owed to the IRS in 2017, and that between 2012 and 2017, Devine used money reserved in a trust for paying the payroll taxes for other purposes, including transferring some of it to other businesses but used most of it to pay for BK Racing's expenses including shop rental, utilities and vendor bills.
According to Dustin Long from NBC Sports, Devine will make his initial appearance in federal court in Charlotte. The charge of failure to truthfully account for and pay over trust fund taxes carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the four counts in the indictment.
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