Tony George out? When was he in?
Long time Hulman/George family antagonist, Robin Miller, reported today that Tony George has been relieved of his CEO position for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway holding corporation but will continue as CEO of the IRL. In the wake of this eye opener, local Indy stations immediately refuted Miller’s report via a statement released by the IMS that obfuscates the true situation.
Insiders claim that Tony’s sisters and Mom want to put a halt to TG’s rampant 13 year spending spree (a rumored $900million) so there’ll be trust fund money left for the next generation. Ya gotta love a “Dallas” like intercine boardroom squabble that involves the secretive Hulman family, shines a spotlight on the always dull Tony George and purports a major change in the future of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Like him or not, Tony George has been the titular head of the IMS as well as the founder and chief beneficiary of the Indy Racing League for the past 13 years. Controversy has followed George through his break-up of the CART racing league via the founding of the look-alike, Speed Racer IRL racing league which many critics believe has led to the ongoing demise of American Open Wheel Racing.
George’s “My racing league or the highway.” attitude alienated fans, drivers and team owners across the United States as foreign dollars and drivers contradicted George’s claim that American drivers would populate the IRL.
Now that TG’s lost his crown, it’ll be interesting to see the cost-cutting maneuvers by the new powers at the IMS and IRL.
My hope is they somehow find a way to bring the side by side passing back that made IRL such an exciting series…way back when.