Bondurant Racing School Is Back Open For Now As It Reorganizes Under Chapter 11
The facility will honor all prior purchases and plans on hosting the 2018 Road to Indy $200,000 Scholarship Shootout in December.
Racing fans were heartbroken to learn that the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving closed last month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief. Fortunately, that closure was brief. Bondurant is now back open, and ready to honor any deposits for classes that may have been booked for the week the facility was closed.
As part of Bondurant's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona installed Timothy Shaffer as Bondurant's new Chief Restructuring Officer, the Bondurant team announced Tuesday. Shaffer will take over the management of the company, oversee its business operations and guide the company through a reorganization that would satisfy its creditors as well as position it for long-term success. Owners Pat and Bob Bondurant will act as consultants during the restructuring effort.
Shaffer reiterated in today's press release that the school is open again, planning on hosting a major Road to Indy schootout next month, and working towards getting back on its feet:
Pat and Bob Bondurant are equally committed to helping the School get back on track. We’ve already begun working on restructuring initiatives that will help stabilize the School’s financial position. Our collective goal is to return the company to normal operations and ensure the School is a part of our local and national racing communities for many years to come. We’re especially looking forward to hosting the 2018 Road to Indy $200,000 Scholarship Shootout, which will be held at our School in December.
In a phone conversation with The Drive, Shaffer acknowledged that there was a "disruption in service" last month, when the school was widely reported to have shut down. However, Shaffer said that Bondurant reopened last week after being closed for "five days or so," and that the school is working to reschedule the classes originally scheduled for that time while they were closed.
Shaffer also noted that they're honoring all deposits made on Bondurant programs to the extent that the courts will allow—just to be careful—and will make additional requests to honor deposits with the court if need be to ensure that customers are taken care of.
While your favorite instructor may not still be there, Shaffer noted that they are restaffing where they can. He said that the school is back to running its full schedule. He's also looking for investors who might be interested in the school's continued success.
The company owed between $1 million and $10 million to its creditors when it applied for Chapter 11 relief, according to court documents.
