And so it begins.....Torco

[Bill]

You could see this one coming from a mile away. There's no way the business (even if it was a $300M business) could support the sponsorships the way he was going about it. There's not that kind of margin in fuel at the distributor level.

My take is Evan is a nice guy who promised way more than he could deliver. Knoll Gas probably used ficticious assets to secure loans to continue to fund the business. Add on the missing quarterly tax payments and you have big problems.

 

[Jim]

Knoll Gas probably used ficticious assets to secure loans to continue to fund the business.

From what I've heard, they took advantage of a federal government program that provides payments to companies that export petroleum products from the USA. What I've heard is that they were filing the paperwork to claim the federal payments and collecting the money. The problems came when the government wanted more proof that they were actually exporting products.

Jim

 

[Larry]

Boy, remember all of the people defending him when all of this BS started going down?

Where are those same people now?

Seems to me that all of these great heros that no one one here is allowed to criticize are human too.

Sucks to be Mr. Knoll right now.

I'm still here Drew and take no comfort people were right about Evans Company and the rest of our hopes were dashed and Drag Racing has most likely lost one of it's greatest benefactors .

Sure maybe it shouldn't have been there in the first place but I didn't see anyone turning it away.

Justice will be served and some one will have to pay but I hope his real enterprise will be enough to bail him out so he still enjoy the sport he and all of us love.
I don't know Evans set up but Refiners are stuck on 8 percent profit if they buy oil from sources not their own.
We import 67 percent of our crude and a goodly amount of refined gasoline no one talks about that is not in the batted around figures.

So if Evans company buys spot market his company profits might not be so lush .
I hate to see any stink connected to the sport.
Ain't Mad , just sad .

 

[George.]

I really feel no need to respond to such a question but since you have attempted to paint me as Evan's right-hand support staff, I'll say this:
I've never met Evan. I've never worked for Evan. I've never purchased products from Torco. I'm not privy to any of the inner workings of this company beyond the articles written and made public alleging things from total fraud to animal cruelty. I've never said Evan or Torco ran a great business. I never indicated that he, Latrell or any of the other principals in Torco was to be found innocent of civil or criminal injustice. I absolutely never said or even indicated that any of the Torco principals were upstanding or fulfilled their commitments in any way so where do you get off calling me out yet another time?

What I did say, and I still stand by my comments and position, is that I'm an optimist and an American. I choose to thank Evan and Torco for their support of racers despite their inability to back such support with business practices that could sustain their sponsorships. I further choose to consider any man innocent until proven guilty. I'm proud to have the moderators call me out for these choices and further proud to be punished or even banished from the site as my position seems to cause so much heartburn to you, Paul. You choose to act and believe as you feel most appropriate. Heaven knows I will.

What you are is incredibly nieve, and then you lash out to those who enjoy a scintilla of character assessment. You defended that ding bat to the wall while other good men lay in his waste, and then you (and others) turned your flame thrower on those who could clearly see beyond the smoke and mirrors that this guy was a total fraud. What made matters even more perplexing is that you were so totally impressed with his 2nd grade temper tantrum that guy threw, and then you latched onto it like he actually made sense.
"Isn't staight talk refreshing" were the words you used if I remember right..

I never met the man either, but I have been burned enough, and helped enough throughout my business life to know what to look for in a stranger.
Mr. Knoll threw up so many red flags that it would take someone of special needs not to see through all of the "glamour"..
You should re-read our whole thread last year, and maybe you can benefit from it in the future.

 

[davey]

WHO's money is BUSH using to sponsor Tony?????????????
Disgruntled EX-EMPLOYEE...?.....
"CANT BE A VICTIM IF YOU DONT VOLUNTEER"...

Q: WHY did you stay with torco as long AS YOU DID?...just curious...

Bush has nothing to do with how the Army spends it recruiting budget.

 

[n/a]

What you are is incredibly nieve, and then you lash out to those who enjoy a scintilla of character assessment. You defended that ding bat to the wall while other good men lay in his waste, and then you (and others) turned your flame thrower on those who could clearly see beyond the smoke and mirrors that this guy was a total fraud. What made matters even more perplexing is that you were so totally impressed with his 2nd grade temper tantrum that guy threw, and then you latched onto it like he actually made sense.
"Isn't staight talk refreshing" were the words you used if I remember right..

I never met the man either, but I have been burned enough, and helped enough throughout my business life to know what to look for in a stranger.
Mr. Knoll threw up so many red flags that it would take someone of special needs not to see through all of the "glamour"..
You should re-read our whole thread last year, and maybe you can benefit from it in the future.

George,it couldnt have said any better.........nice work!!!

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Not posting, thats for sure.

Why, one 10th grade dropout found his rant "as encouraging and inspirational"

This tenth grade dropout hasn't been online in over a week and I don't hide from anyone.

What I criticized was anyone making statements that generalized all financially wealthy people and anyone who publicly convicted Mr. Knoll ahead of time. There seems to be no shortage of people who will jump the gun on that in any situation.

Why would I be surprised that you'd defend the "baseless attack" crowd and, instead, go after the ones who attack them? I'm not the one who occasionally goes overboard in that area and then has to leave the board for weeks or months to do whatever regrouping that requires a person to have to do.

I do know that the feds have something like a 98% criminal conviction record so, yeah, odds are his goose is well cooked. That's based on something and it can be said without unnecessary generalizations.

 

[Tony]

What you are is incredibly nieve, and then you lash out to those who enjoy a scintilla of character assessment. You defended that ding bat to the wall while other good men lay in his waste, and then you (and others) turned your flame thrower on those who could clearly see beyond the smoke and mirrors that this guy was a total fraud. What made matters even more perplexing is that you were so totally impressed with his 2nd grade temper tantrum that guy threw, and then you latched onto it like he actually made sense.
"Isn't staight talk refreshing" were the words you used if I remember right..

I never met the man either, but I have been burned enough, and helped enough throughout my business life to know what to look for in a stranger.
Mr. Knoll threw up so many red flags that it would take someone of special needs not to see through all of the "glamour"..
You should re-read our whole thread last year, and maybe you can benefit from it in the future.

Well said, George! Now that the Torco snafu is reaching the "real world", all the dirty laundry will be out. I've said from the beginning that I didn't doubt that Evan Knoll loved drag racing, but he loved the attention, adulation, and spotlight even more. A lot of good hard-working people outside of racing are the real losers in this situation.

 

[davey]

That paint job Mike Ashley had of Evan's face on the hood of his car still gives me the creeps.

 

[George.]

That paint job Mike Ashley had of Evan's face on the hood of his car still gives me the creeps.

Credit that short sponsorship ride to a smart business mind knowing how to capitolize on a simple, egotistically driven person with some fast money to drop. The face on the hood was the ultimate ego stroker.
Genuis, Mike!
I'm sure it was worth a couple million while it lasted.
Mike Ashley, knowing full well that it would end soon, handled the "departure" of Torco like a pro because he knew full well what it was..

 

[davey]

Credit that short sponsorship ride to a smart business mind knowing how to capitolize on a simple, egotistically driven person with some fast money to drop. The face on the hood was the ultimate ego stroker.
Genuis, Mike!
I'm sure it was worth a couple million while it lasted.
Mike Ashley, knowing full well that it would end soon, handled the "departure" of Torco like a pro because he knew full well what it was..

Very good points. I thought that as well. Mike is "a little smarter than the average bear". Nothing wrong with that. It was a great opportunity for him at the time.

 

[nedannouncer]

Just in case anyone was interested in seeing the "mystery plane"....here it is for sale for 15.2 million bucks.

This is THE actual plane. A 2002 Cessna Citation X. The N-number is N370EK...note the EK. I bet that was just a cruel joke thought up by the rapscallion that bought this thing without the knowledge of the boss. Whomever bought it has good taste...DAMN.

2002 CITATION X For Sale by Duncan Aviation, Inc. - N370EK at Aviation Business Index

Brian

 

[You!]

I just checked an industry website and it listed annual sales for Knoll Gas at 77.9 million. Not sure how current the info is because it also listed their credit rating at 93 (A).

 

[Super Mod]

That paint job Mike Ashley had of Evan's face on the hood of his car still gives me the creeps.

Was there a matching helmet as wellthat would really be creepy Wally

 

[DragFan2]

Mr. Knoll threw up so many red flags that it would take someone of special needs not to see through all of the "glamour".

George, you may have smelled something funny a long time ago, and suspected Evan Knoll was not trustworthy, but there apparently is a long list of people that aren't as smart as you. I think we all suspected something every time another car showed up with Torco sponsorship, especially in the Pro categories, but one could say the same thing about Lucas Oil if you think about it. I suspect that Evan did have a brain change/personality disorder that was due to the car accident most likely. People that knew him before and after have already vouched for that. What is sad is that nobody in the company reigned him in when he went too far. This whole deal is sad but making personal attacks against people is pathetic. Lighten up.

 

[The Counterfeiter]

George, you may have smelled something funny a long time ago, and suspected Evan Knoll was not trustworthy. I think we all suspected something every time another car showed up with Torco sponsorship, especially in the Pro categories, but one could say the same thing about Lucas Oil if you think about it.

No - one CANNOT say the same thing about Lucas Oil! In case you have forgotten, Forrest stepped in when Federal Mogul bailed on the sportsman series. Also, there is none of the showboating displayed by Evan in the Lucas family . . . Charlotte races in Super Comp and is very close to sportsman racers. Ask Shawn Langdon (the Super Comp racer with #1 on his car) or Aaron Kinard (third in SC national points) about the financial and team support they receive from Lucas.
And I doubt that the City of Indianapolis and the Colts put Lucas Oil signage on the new stadium based on the promise of a multimillion dollar check.
Don't compare Lucas to Knoll - you are dead wrong.

 

[clwill]

I doubt that the City of Indianapolis and the Colts put Lucas Oil signage on the new stadium based on the promise of a multimillion dollar check.

Don't be so sure -- remember Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park), Network Associates Coliseum (now McAfee Coliseum), Candlestick Park then 3Com Park now Monster Park, Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field)? Just because you can pay the initial down payment doesn't mean squat...

 

[Larry]

Mike knew but he still raced under the banner when he could. Actually with the pending dip in the home mortgage industry Evan likely gave Mike a chance to continue his F/C program at a time he could not have done otherwise.

A lot of people chose to accept Evans sponsorship funds. Bobby is right if like Lucas [ who sponsors in every motor sports venue ] Evan had the bucks to back it up we would still be lauding his generosity.

I think I will adopt [ maybe except ] Evans wrapping that Viper around that tree and the resulting increases in sponsorship funding.
Sounds good to me .
We lost Boyd Coddington to similar head trauma after going home thinking he would be alright .
See Evan if you had been driving a Z 06 you might not have lost it and you might be sitting in a fuel car right now.
I know I'm a Corvette guy but it's still for the money the greatest American Sports Car Made.
Enjoy EM if you've got one cause they might disappear soon like certain sponsorships.
Eh maybe the Chinese like Vette's too.

 

[George.]

There could be a number of reasons that caused his problems.
Usually, the absence of a "voice of reason" is the cause of an ego running out of control. An entourage of "yes" men throws nitro onto the problem. I am sure one slap in the face from mom from time to time would have helped, but that wasn't able to happen. It's really a shame, and everybody loses..

That situation is extremely, extremely unlikely in the Lucas Family.
Just an outsiders observation and preception here:
First and foremost, Lucas is a businesman, Knoll is not.
Forrest Lucas came from nothing "and didn't forget it". He was a truck driver who knows what being broke is all about. Both he and Charlotte seem to be well attached to their roots. I am sure if one gets feeling a little "full of themselves" the other quickly fixes the problem. Although Morgan has had the luxury of being born and raised in an extremely wealthy family, he carries himself in a way where you know his mother and father are always aware of where they came from, and they seem to live life while keeping their apparent successes in check..

Lucas Oil doesn't sell "car wax" or "skull shirts" and try to live like a rock star on an undeveloped, low profit product that nobody outside of the NHRA fan base has heard of, wants, needs, or most importantly, where nobody can get.. Not a good business plan, and because the product and distribution were not allowed to fully developed first, all of the drag racing sponsorship advertising could do nothing for sales.
Lucas sells oil products that are successfully distributed to a store within a mile of everybody. You can buy a Lucas product almost anywhere that sells oil. Buying the naming rights to the Colts new stadium now introduces Lucas to tens of millions of unaware, "non" motorheads all across the world. It was a brilliant move that could only be made after the rest of the sales and distribution network were fully in place.
You guys are going to hear the Lucas Oil name said a million times during the upcoming football seasons. EVERYBODY will know who they are and what they sell.
Look for Lucas to become one rich, rich, man...
Please, do NOT compare the Lucas family with that other guy.

 

[K20A2]

The numbers that I heard was Lucas Oil was doing over a billion in sales and that was a couple of years ago.