As IMS Turns...

Since the end of May 2009, the ongoing soap opera at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been interesting to watch.  It began with reports of Tony George's ouster as IMS President, then was confirmed during the summer, with George staying on the board and Jeff Belskus assuming the track's presidency.

Now - George has resigned from the board altogether.  What does any of it mean?  Well, short term, George maintains his ownership of Vision Racing.  And with the persistent rumors of his (and John Menard's) desire to purchase the IZOD IndyCar Series, maybe that's what he's planning to do in the coming days and months.

But why walk away from the family business(es) - Hulman & Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, IMS Productions, etc.?  Maybe he was tired of watching the bottom line be cleaned up, resulting in layoffs throughout those various companies.  Perhaps he felt that he, in good conscience, could not remain on the board as others (especially those who showed the George Family and IMS loyalty in the lean years of the IRL) lost their jobs in a difficult economy.

To me, it goes back to last May, when he was forced out of the presidency of IMS.  To be asked to resign as IMS President, and by his family members no less, had to be disheartening.  And this signals to me that those hurt feelings have continued to linger, to an extent.

Now, that's my airchair psychologist speaking.  To be honest, I have no idea whether George resigned because of the scars from last May, hurt feelings because he hasn't been allowed to see the redesigned Indycar.com, a desire to vacation more, or because he wants to buy the IZOD IndyCar Series outright. 

In any case, it's been a helluva roller coaster for George over the last eight months, that is for sure.

Tony George Speaketh (again)

Former Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation chairman Tony George put out another statement today, attempting to shed more light on the goings on on the IMS board. While George wasn't scathing in his blog post on VisionRacing.com, he did maintain that he has not received an explanation as to why he was let go.

And I think George hits the nail on the head with this question at the end of his post:

I have been replaced in my role as manager by two individuals who have been with the company for many years. In that time they have also been members of the executive management team and have participated in all of the strategic decisions that have been made over the last 15 years, so they are well aware of the challenges ahead. My question for the board has been not one of who is going to manage the company, but rather, who is going to lead it? There is a distinction.

For the complete story, click here.

It's (Finally) Official: George Out at IMS

Tony George, whose reign as the President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and creator of the Indy Racing League drew a line in the sand for open-wheel racing afficianados, resigned as the chief executive officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League and Hulman & Co. today.

According to Curt Cavin at The Indianapolis Star, Curt Brighton will head Hulman & Co., while Jeff Belskus will head IMS. IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com has the following statement from Mari Hulman-George:

"Our board had asked Tony to structure our executive staff to create efficiencies in our business structure and to concentrate his leadership efforts in the Indy Racing League. He has decided that with the recent unification of open-wheel racing and the experienced management team IMS has cultivated over the years, now would be the time for him to concentrate on his team ownership of Vision Racing with his family and other personal business interests he and his family share.

"Tony will remain on the Board of Directors of all of our companies, and he will continue to work with the entire board to advance the interests of all of companies.

"Our family and the entire racing community are grateful to Tony for the leadership and direction he has provided since 1990. We are pleased that he will continue to be an important part of the Indy Racing League as a team owner and as a member of our Board of Directors, and we wish him every success."

But maybe the biggest part of Hulman-George's statement comes in the last part of the article, in which she says:

"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. 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 in the IRL demonstrates that we have full confidence in all of our companies and that we intend to grow them in the future."

So, the Hulman-George family remains committed to IndyCar racing at IMS. Tony George will run his team on a day-to-day basis (which he already does), while the leadership of Joie Chitwood III at IMS and Terry Angstadt and Brian Barnhardt at the IndyCar Series continues. On the day-to-day level, nothing changes.

Now, the debate can continue about how the history of American open-wheel racing will remember Tony George, but the IndyCar Series will continue with its day-to-day operations, working to gain market share and continue its progress from last season's reunification.

And honestly, unless the IMS decides to pull all financial support for the ICS (I doubt that happens, unless the series continues to lack a title sponsor), the lack of passing and exciting racing is a much bigger problem for the sport right now than the change in leadership in the ICS and IMS.

This Should Please Tony George's Sisters

If the true reason for telling Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George that he must reevaluate his commitments to IMS and the IndyCar Series was because of the Hulman-George family's concerns over money, then the news that Ryan Hunter-Reay will drive for A.J. Foyt Racing for the remainder of the season must be greeted with smiles.

Vision Racing, owned by Tony George, will now suspend operations for the No. 21 car immediately, which will save the team (and George family) money. Sponsorship for Hunter-Reay's car never developed, aside from Hunter-Reay's personal sponsorship from Izod. And after his podium performance at St. Petersberg, the team struggled, culminating in a lack of speed and crash at Indianapolis.

With Izod in tow, Hunter-Reay will join the iconic Foyt Racing Team and provide a permanent solution to the absence of Vitor Meira for the remainder of the season. Meira, for his part, hopes to be back for the season finale at Homestead.

Hunter-Reay pushes aside Paul Tracy, who drove at Milwaukee, and A.J. Foty IV, who drove at Texas. Born in Texas, Hunter-Reay will look to boost the performance of Foyt Racing, while leaving open the possibility of returning to Vision Racing in the future:

"We all have the big picture in mind for Vision's future, and that is not only to find our way to Victory Circle but for Vision to have a program that is capable of challenging for the championship. As competitive as the Indy Racing League is today, those goals require a strong commitment not only by the team but also by sponsors and partners.

"In the very short time I have been at Vision their efforts in developing sponsorship and B2B opportunities have yielded positive results which have laid a strong foundation we intend to build on. Knowing what I know today, I am optimistic of continuing with Vision in 2010 with a strong program."

Basically, two birds are killed with one stone here: first, Foyt gets a permanent solution for losing Meira. Second, Vision Racing saves money on a car that brought in no outside money and Tony George keeps the face of the IndyCar-Izod relationship in the IndyCar Series on a competitive team. The downside comes in the fact that the ICS loses one of its cars.

Are the Rumors True? Who Knows...

Robin Miller of SpeedTV.com (formerly of the Indianapolis Star) is reporting that Tony George has been ousted as President of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (story here)

No one else is confirming this story as of yet, though a few twitterers also have reported the same (and if it is confirmed, I will give them credit for breaking the story).

UPDATE [1:37 p.m.]: Tony George spoke to Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star, telling him,

"I am still CEO and still president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, Hulman and Company, and CEO of the Indy Racing League."

For the full Cavin story, click here.

Regardless, I'll have more thoughts on this later tonight.

UPDATE No. 2: My Take:
Tony George may not be out as president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but when he makes a presentation to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board later this year, he may be faced with a difficult choice: how to remain in power as the President of IMS and continue to grow the IndyCar Series.

For all of his pros and cons, it cannot be denied that George has overseen a time of massive improvement at IMS - all of which was done without a taxpayer paying a dime to support the renovations. From redoing seating to rebuilding the Pagoda to creating additional safety systems for drivers, George has made sure that the viewing public gets their money's worth when inside the gates at 16th and Georgetown.

Yes, some of the criticisms of George are warranted: it remains to be seen whether or not creating the Indy Racing League and subsequently reuniting it with Champ Car was worth the trouble (you could make an argument that we'd be watching Formula 1-style racing in which mega-budget teams dominate if he hadn't); some would argue that inviting NASCAR and F-1 to IMS was worth it (though it now brings people to Speedway and Indianapolis three times a year, further boosting the local economy).

So, obviously, George comes with his benefits and detractors, but I would argue that most of the moves he has made as IMS president have been for the benefit of the Speedway. IMS continues to be the world's most famous racetrack, and the Indianapolis 500 is still the biggest race in the world. That said, it may be becoming apparent that some on the IMS board would like George to begin focusing his efforts in one area - continuing the growth of the ICS.

In the statement released today by IMS, George's mother, Mary Hulman-George, said the following:

"There was a general discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing all of our companies and where most of our energies need to be spent. All of our properties are doing well, given the challenges of the current economy. The Indy Racing League represents our greatest growth opportunity and therefore deserves the most attention at this point."

So, what can we read from this? It seems like the board at IMS wants to grow the IndyCar brand, using it and the Indianapolis 500 to continue fueling each other's renewal and growth. It appears as if the board would like Mr. George to present a plan for how he feels that he could continue to be a source of growth for both without necessarily pouring the George Family's capital into both. If he can do that, then I would venture to guess George will stay on board as CEO of ICS and President of IMS.

Now, how can he do that? A quote from George is telling:

“This place wakes up every morning and eats money. We spend a lot of money keeping it in the condition we do. Certainly the Indy Racing League has in the past required a lot of capital to keep it going when there was two competing series — and a lot of money was spent last year trying to unify. We got that done and everybody’s hoping to catch a tail wind and then the economy’s in our face. We’re just dealing with that.”

It's easy to blame things on the current economy, but with a new engine package set to roll out in 2011, plus new races being booked internationally, more money will be coming into IMS and ICS, along with an increase in worldwide popularity (with ventures into Brazil, China and even India, the IndyCar Series seems poised to strike should Formula 1 fall flat on its face). Should the international dollars flow into ICS (and some of those conversion rates are pretty darn good), then perhaps the Georges' won't have to bankroll so much of the series.

Basically, it's the economy, stupid. If George is able to demonstrate a growth plan for ICS that displays a clear vision for how its growth will allow the Indianapolis 500 and IMS to continue its resurgence, then he'll stay on board in both places. If he can't, then the board will probably move to bring in someone who can work with George (who would presumably stay on as CEO of ICS) as the new president of IMS.