LITTLE ROCK — Bill Davis Trucking Inc. of Batesville has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bill Davis, company president, is widely known as owner of a NASCAR team.
The company's attorney, Geoff Treece of Little Rock, declined to comment on the pending case.
A meeting with creditors is scheduled for Dec. 18, according to an Oct. 22 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District Arkansas in Batesville. Audrey R. Evans is the presiding judge.
Chapter 11 allows restructuring of debt so that a company can continue to operate.
A list of assets and liabilities is not currently available. The deadline for filing that is Nov. 6.
Davis also owns Bill Davis Racing, based in High Point, N.C. It had been speculated that his NASCAR team would potentially be sold or bought into. Davis confirmed that ownership had not changed hands.
"No, we have not done that.A lot of people are interested in NASCAR. ... We certainly have entertained some offers," Davis said in a telephone interview.
It is not clear whether the offers were considered because of the financial situation at Bill Davis Trucking Inc. Davis declined further comment.
The company Web site states that the carrier was established in 1975 when Davis bought two trucks.
Subsequently, family friend Julian Martin of Batesville leased his trucks to Davis so that he could learn the trucking business, according to the site. Martin, who died in 1998, was the father of NASCAR driver Mark Martin.
Currently, according to the site, the company has 33 tractors, 75-plus full-time employees and serves the continental United States. It has 45 trailers, according to the Arkansas Trucking Association.
In the scope of the Arkansas trucking industry, Bill Davis Trucking is a medium-size company, said Arkansas Trucking Association President Lane Kidd.
He said the issue reflects thestate of the trucking industry.
"The filing is indicative of not anything specific to the company necessarily so much as it's very tough for many trucking companies right now because freight demand is slow, fuel prices are high and labor is hard to find," Kidd said.
Kidd added that the industry directly reflects the U.S. economy as it serves the demand for freight deliveries. As the economy has declined, so has the industry, he said.
"All of us hope that we have reached the bottom," Kidd said.
Business, Pages 21 on 10/30/2007