APR News: Andy Petree Racing will be allowed to pay back a $5 million loan earlier than expected following approval by a county panel Monday. The Henderson County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority waived a 45-day notice period to let the company go ahead and repay a loan made by Wachovia bank. The money was in the form of bonds that the state allowed Petree to borrow privately through an Industrial Revenue Bond agreement, authority president Herbert Young said. Such bonds have been in place for industrial development for more than 25 years, Young said. Andy Petree Racing is considered a manufacturing industry, and that’s why it qualified for this type of loan, he said. Because these types of bonds are loans and industries have the right to pay them back, the money is not considered a gift, Young said. The money comes from a private source, but the borrower must have state government approval and the authority acts as a conduit, he said. The company struggled to find sponsorship for one car for the 2003 season. That was a far cry from 2001 when Petree fielded a two-car team, with both the #33 car, sponsored by Oakwood Mobile Homes and the #55 car, sponsored by Schneider Electric, posting victories. But a pullout by Oakwood Mobile Homes sidelined the #33 car. And a recent announcement that Schneider Electric will no longer be a full sponsor of the #55 car has put its future in doubt. At one time, Petree employed 110 people but now only has 25 full-time employees. Petree has a single-race sponsor lined up for the season-opening Daytona 500, general manager Steve Barkdoll said. The sponsor will be announced after the new year.(Hendersonville Times News)(12-26-2002)
