Champ Car bankruptcy update

UPDATE The final hurdle in the unification of open-wheel racing was cleared late Thursday when Champ Car’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis. The deal calls for George to pay $6 million for the key assets of Champ Car and another $2 million each to Kalkhoven and Forsythe.

03/28/08 The official committee of unsecured creditors of the Champ Car World Series have request that the Court deny the sale of CCWS assets, or at least extend the motion so that everything can be fully assessed. They summarized their motion, stating:

…it appears that the proposed transactions have a value in excess of $17.5 million over the next five years – with only $6 million allocated to the Debtor’s estate at closing and the balance of $11.5 million retained by the insider Owners. While high speed may be desirable on the race track; not so in bankruptcy court where the law requires that creditors have complete information, a reasonable time to review and investigate that information and for this Court to ensure at the end of race, that a transaction rife with insider dealing is fair and reasonable and in the best interests of all creditors. isitMayyet.com

This motion is joined by Carl A. Haas Automobile Imports, Inc. and Hewland Engineering. It is noted that Mike Lanigan is one of the co-chairs of the committee of unsecured creditors. The numbers thrown out are speculative, as it says earlier in the docket that no proper appraisal has been presented to the creditors or Court.