Tony George (on 6/30) resigns CEO post of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL

Re: Report: Tony George out as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway

I'm not going to fault him for Formula One. Sucks to have lost that race, but bully for George for not putting up with Bernie Ecclestone's crap. The improvements to the facility were still terrific and MotoGP is a very cool event that debuted well last year and should only get better.

For the most part, I think George's work around IMS has been commendable. While Indy's downtown arenas are in the middle of a boondoggle with a Capital Improvement Board's multi-million dollar budget shortfall -- which is about to hit every Marion County resident and maybe every Indiana resident in the wallet -- it's important to remember that IMS has still never taken one cent of public money in 100 years.

Now as for the IRL...yeah, I'd like to see that taken off George's plate.

 

Re: Report: Tony George out as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Miller and Martin, swing and a miss:


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INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY STATEMENT
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

At a regular meeting of the board of directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 26, board members asked Tony George, chief executive officer of the IMS companies, to devise a plan for management of Hulman & Company, the Indy Racing League, Clabber Girl and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that would allow him to focus on the business which requires the greatest attention. This plan is to be presented to the board at a meeting later this year.

IMS Chairman of the Board Mari Hulman George said: “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.”

Tony George said: “Contrary to published reports, I continue to serve as CEO of IMS. Our board of directors met yesterday, and we did discuss how to best confront challenges and exploit opportunities facing our businesses. This is nothing new and is something that we continually do as a board. But no changes in leadership or responsibility have been made. We don’t normally comment on board deliberations concerning our family business. However, the widespread, inaccurate reports and rumors caused my mother and me to conclude that it was necessary to set the record straight. If changes are made in the management of the company that are newsworthy, we will announce them when they are made.”