Much of the leadership turmoil that dominated discussion at the end of 2011 leading into the start of 2012 regarding the Circuit of the Americas involved the respective roles of Full Throttle's Tavo Hellmund and two of the track's investors, Bobby Epstein and San Antonio billionaire Red McCombs.
A Wednesday night report from the Austin-American Statesman indicates there could be a showdown as McCombs could either be bought out of the track, or instead purchase Hellmund's shares. This would be known as a “buy-sell,” or “push-pull” agreement – whereby one party would make an offer to buy out another one with the possibility there could then be a reverse buyout.
The claim was made in a letter sent from Hellmund's lawyers to McCombs. Neither had comment on the legal matters at hand, although McCombs described the magnitude of the project itself as his main reason for potentially wanting a bigger piece of the pie.
“The big thing is the project itself,” McCombs said. “We've got a chance to do something very special.”