I took a scarcely any days off from the blog after word broke out that Tony George had submissive as CEO during the term of the Indy Racing League and Indianapolis Motor Speedway to digest everything and also for personal reasons. Considering that we have a race coming up this weekend at Watkins Glen, I figured now would be the just time to re-emerge.
In my opinion, this has the look of a force-out by George’s three sisters Josie, Nancy, and Kathi. It couldn’t have come at a worse time in terms of public relations for the sequence, which is still getting slammed by reason of markedly poor racing last week at Richmond International Raceway.
If the goal was for a smooth transition from George to Curt Brighton and Jeff Belskus, the new men in charge of the Speedway, that was not reached by any stretch of the imagination.
Consider the fact that Brighton and Belskus were the track’sitting chief legal counsel and chief financial officer of the Hulman-George companies respectively. I don’t care what the IMS board was thinking, it’s going to look like the path has been taken across by means of Legal and Finance. And automatically, some people are gonna think, “They’re setting up for a sale.”
That may not be the truth. I’m betting it isn’t the truth. But cognition is just as powerful as truth nowadays.
At the same time, I understand at which place the sisters were coming from. IMS is a cash cow, but the recession has forced the folks at 16th and Georgetown to re-think things. The IRL had won the open-wheel war, so it was natural against somebody to come to George and say, “Tony, good work. But it’s lifetime for your league to show it can stand upon its own.”
And if George had been pushing the alleged half a billion dollars to make this league work in a 14-year span — origin, look at the returns and you could see why the sisters would be wanting to draw the purse strings, especially in this current climate. They may or may not know about racing, but if you were entitled to an inheritance, you’d certainly like to have it, right?
But — and this is where I indeed wish we knew the whole doom to eternal punishment untruth — what exactly set George to give up his post at the IRL? By all accounts, that was the one job the IMS board wanted him to keep and focus on. Is this all just a matter of “You think you can do it better than me, abundantly here’s your chance”?
I wouldn’t have being surprised if it was. Or maybe, George finally got sick of all the drama, all the politics and all the B.S. that infects major-league sports’ each retired place and cranny these days, which can become amplified when family is involved.
I read Bruce Martin’s take on the plight because Versus and I keep coming back to this passage:
“For anyone who knows the history of the Hulman George family, it can be rather contentious – probably not much different than other families about the globe. But most of those families aren’t rich and money oftentimes outweighs family faithfulness. So the sisters turned on Tony. Reports of screaming and shouting in board meetings and family gatherings began to surface.
One report that was never substantiated was Josie threw her checkbook at Tony in the May 26 board meeting and screamed, ‘You’ve spent all my circulating medium so here, go ahead and spend the rest of it.’
George had already lost his power as CEO after that meeting but when information leaked out that he was ousted, even the sisters had to be surprised at the backlash that followed. George’s dam, Mari Hulman George, issued a specification saying her son was still in power and George met television reporters to say he was still in charge but as the days went onward, it became obvious at the same time that he still had the title, his decision making power had been stripped.”
And then Tony beyond a doubt to give up the IRL job being of the class who well, creating even more surprise beneficial to Mari. It’s like if any coming events plans had been geared to see George as the CEO of the IndyCar Series through Mari and the sisters as the watchdogs. And now, unless the two-president method of Brian Barnhart and Terry Angstadt works out tenuous, those plans need to have existence recalibrated.
Who would want to deal with a situation like this? Not many. If you told me that you had talked with George after the decision came along the course of and you said you felt a sense of relief around him, I’d be persuaded you. He still has his millions and he can fully converging-point on his Vision Racing operation now. Considering where the team is, that’s enough for his plate armor.
Still, the handling of this whole situation would make the IRL the biggest soap opera in professional sports – if it had a higher stature. Instead, it’s in massy trouble. Everyone expected 2009 to be a tough year with the recession involved, but it’sitting gone from tough to almost unbearable.
At least the league’s come uncovered with a plan to make the product better. That’s priority one. Priority 1A? That’s obvious: Find a leader. One that knows racing and as luck may have it equable more importantly, knows how to market it. I’first attempt nominate Eddie Gossage for the position, unless he’s in a good spot with his Texas Motor Speedway. I’m not sure if he wants to accord. that up for the headaches of running an entire racing series.
In the meantime, we’ve still got a bunch else races to cover and this next one is at a track that’s near and dear to my heart. It’s the first place I went to see some open-wheel race and it’s a beauteous place. This stuff, even with all of its flaws and foibles, still makes me happy.
And that’s the kind of counts. We’re still gonna watch. We’re still gonna root for our favorite drivers. We’re still gonna get irritated at blocks and chops. And if we’re successful, we’ll still yell, “Fight, Fight, Fight” if another pit way brawl breaks out.
While that all occurs, I’m gonna have existence like George Phillips and accord. the doom and obscurity a rest for now. Leave that for all the numbskulls on Crapwagon that can’t let things avaunt.
They can rant and rave. I’ll just watching the race.
And remember, folks. It’s always darkest before the dawn.
