Former NASCAR Cup Series team owner Ronald Devine faces federal charges stemming from his operation of the defunct BK Racing operation.
Frontstretch.com reported Thursday that Devine, 67, has been indicted on four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes. Each of the counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. There could also be a $250,000 fine for each of the indictment’s counts.
BK Racing competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2018 and fielded cars for Alex Bowman and David Ragan, among other drivers. A Burger King franchisee, Devine often ran BK paint schemes on his cars. At one point, BK Racing fielded as many as three cars in the Cup Series. In all, the team made 430 starts in NASCAR’s top series, never winning a race.
A media release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of North Carolina alleged that between 2012 and 2017, Devine “caused BK Racing to fail to account for and pay over hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes.” Devine also allegedly transferred “more than $2 million to other businesses and entities that he owned.” According to the release, Devine used the funds to pay for BK Racing’s expenses such as vendor bills, rent and utilities.
This is not the first time Devine has faced fallout from his NASCAR team ownership days. In 2022, Devine and his associated companies and trusts were ordered to pay $31 million to a trustee handling the race team’s bankruptcy proceedings.
