Tony George resigns as Indy boss

[PTRACER]

Will probably be significant news to some...

[PTfan54]

See, Max. That's how its done!

[Cheeveer]

Fantastic!

Except that it means that the IRL needs to find money somewhere else...

[strad]

Tony George is out effective Wednesday, but it appears the Indy Racing League’s immediate future is safe.

As first reported a month ago on SPEEDtv.com and made official Tuesday, George is no longer president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or CEO of the Hulman-George companies.

The 49-year-old grandson of IMS savior Tony Hulman, who took control of the Speedway in 1990, brought NASCAR to Indy in 1994 and started the IRL/CART war in 1996 before uniting open wheel racing last year, was expected to remain CEO of the IRL but has resigned that position.

Because George controlled the Hulman-George fund and used it to operate the IRL, the IndyCar community has been concerned about continuing this arrangement since SPEED broke the story that he was voted out of power on May 26. The owners even issued a statement of support for TG at Milwaukee last month.

A couple weeks ago when Tony’s Vision Racing team wasn’t able to acquire any more family money to run Ryan Hunter-Reay the rest of 2009 (he was farmed out to A.J. Foyt), it should have been obvious TG no longer controlled the checkbook.

But after IMS chairman Mari Hulman George announced Tuesday that longtime IMS executive Jeff Belskus would replace her son as CEO and president of the Speedway and Kurt Brighton would assume the same duties for Hulman & Company, the press release contained a vote of confidence regarding the IRL’s future.

“These changes underscore our family’s commitment going forward to all of our companies, especially our commitment to the growth of the Indy Racing League and the sport of open wheel racing,” said Mrs. George.

“We believe the Hulman-George family’s long stewardship of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning in 1945, and our significant investment in the Speedway and the IRL demonstrates that we have full confidence in all of our companies and that we intend to grow them in the future.”

The immediate reaction from the IndyCar paddock was relief.

“When I first heard about this last month, I’ll admit it was a big worry because I knew Tony put out all the money and gave his life to the IRL,” said Tony Kanaan, the 2004 IRL champion. “So I’m glad to hear the direction the Hulman-George family is taking for the league.

“The good news is that Tony is stillon the board of directors and now he can concentrate on his team.”

Chip Ganassi, whose cars have won five of the eight races this year and currently rank 1-2 in the point standings with Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, admitted he had some trepidation.

“Anytime there’s uncertainty you are concerned but I think the Hulman-George family has shown a stewardship for Indy-car racing for many, many years and I hope it continues.

“It sounds like that’s their plan and that’s excellent.”

Kevin Kalkhoven, who co-owned Champ Car with Gerald Forsythe prior to unification and now competes in the IRL with KV Racing, remains concerned about the product.

“We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know where we go from here but it sounds like the family wants to keep things going and maintain tradition,” said Kalkhoven.

“My immediate concern is the racing and our budgets. Clearly, we have a problem right now with boring races and old technology so we need new cars and engines as soon as possible. And we must reduce the costs of this series.”

It was estimated George had spent in excess of $600 million on the IRL in the past 13 years during the open wheel war and it was no secret his three sisters (Josie, Kathy and Nancy) were not happy with how the family money was being spent. TG also brought Formula One to IMS in 2000 and made massive physical changes to the track, reportedly at a cost of more than $60 million to accommodate Bernie Ecclestone and Company.

SPEED reported his sisters (also on the IMS board of directors) finally voted TG out of power, along with longtime IMS attorney Jack Snyder. It’s not known whether Mari cast a vote or not.

Since launching Vision Racing in 2005, George has not been involved with IMS or IndyCar on a day-to-day basis and the IRL will continue to operate under the direction of Brian Barnhart and Terry Angstadt. Joey Chitwood remains COO of the Speedway.

[Ian-S]

The family will support the IRL, maybe not so much as before, but they'll support it.
Nascar and (loss-making) MotoGP won't keep the speedway afloat.