There have been many teams that used to race in NASCAR in the past but are not seen on the grid anymore. For many, the reason is financial problems, as managing a NASCAR team is not a cheap affair. BK Racing was a team that made their run from 2012 to 2018, and last year, they were taken to court for not paying payroll taxes. The owner of BK Racing, Ron Devine, could have faced 5 years in prison with a fine of $1 million if he was found guilty.

The team, which participated in the Cup Series from 2012 to 2018, went bankrupt in 2018 with more than $8 million in unpaid debts. Devine is accused of transferring approximately $2 million from the team to his other business ventures between 2012 and 2017, failing to pay $390,000 in payroll taxes to the IRS in 2017. Last year, Devine pleaded not guilty to four counts of payroll tax evasion and that’s where the situation started getting worse.

If found guilty, Devine faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines for each of the four counts, summing up to a heavy $1 million fine. BK Racing under Devine’s management did not properly pay payroll taxes, which fund Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes. The team was required to match employees’ tax contributions and pay trust fund taxes but failed to do so. It seems after a year, Devine has changed his stance in the legal battle, pleading guilty to not paying taxes.

In an update on the situation, Bob Pockrass reported, “Former team owner Ron Devine has agreed to a plea deal. Factual basis: ‘Devine did willfully fail to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service $176,144.88 in trust fund taxes due and owing to the IRS on behalf of BK Racing for the quarter ending June 30, 2017.'” Pockrass also added to say that the court date of January 6 was planned for the hearing. The tweet also highlights the amount Devine failed to pay in 2017’s first quarter.

Devine filed for bankruptcy in 2018 just before the Daytona 500, owing $8 million to creditors. The bankruptcy resulted in the sale of BK Racing to Front Row Motorsports for $2.08 million, despite Devine’s attempts to prevent the sale. The legal trouble continued as in 2022, Devine was ordered to pay $31 million for failing to comply with financial disclosure procedures.

What the US Attorney’s office has to say about the case against Ron Devine

Ron Devine has been taken to court and, “The indictment alleges that, starting in 2012, Devine caused BK Racing to fail to account for and pay over hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes.” This situation is being called a tax fraud incident, as the indictment states, “In 2017, Devine allegedly failed to pay over more than $390,000 in payroll taxes due to the IRS.”

Getting caught up in a legal battle can be quite difficult for a NASCAR team, and in the case of BK Racing, the team announced bankruptcy just three days before the 2018 Daytona 500. According to the indictment that followed, “Devine transferred more than $2 million to other businesses and entities that he owned and controlled and used some of the funds to pay for BK Racing’s expenses such as rent, utilities, and vendor bills.”

After the team filed for bankruptcy back in 2018, they liquidated their assets in August of the same year, and the team was eventually sold to Front Row Motorsports. Although the team was sold to FRM, BK Racing continued to run their No. 23 car till the end of the 2018 season. NY Racing Team and Front Row Motorsports supported the dissolving team through the season and 2019; BK Racing became a part of NASCAR history.

With that said, do you have a favorite achievement from BK Racing’s run in NASCAR? Share your thoughts in the comments below.