Bondurant driving school back on track after temporarily closing its doors

Just a few weeks after closing its doors, the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is open for business once again. On November 28, the legendary Arizona-based driving school announced that it is ready for students to begin revving engines and roasting tires on the school’s road course. The Bondurant school, which has been operating for 50 years, is still dealing with the lingering effects of bankruptcy and restructuring however.

Bondurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, approximately one month prior to its temporary closing in November. Legal documents showed debt of $1 million–$10 million, with the total shared between 50–100 creditors at the time of of filing. The school had originally planned to stay open for the duration of Chapter 11, but ran into a speed bump in the process, forcing it to close for a short time while restructuring. This announcement came suddenly in the form of a note on the door stating “School is Closed.”

Timothy Shaffer, Bondurant’s court-approved Chief Restructuring Officer, recently confirmed that the scheduled Mazda Road to Indy Shootout scheduled for December 8–9 is still a go. This event provides 20 junior open-wheel champions the opportunity to compete for a $200,000 scholarship to put towards the next step in their racing career.

In an interview with The Drive, Shafer also provided reassurance that the school would be “honoring all deposits made on Bondurant programs to the extent that the courts will allow.” It sounds like the historic racing school might just be back on the racing line after its close encounter with the financial wall.