The most intriguing story coming out of Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday for people who follow racing was the public confirmation that Tony George was quietly named chairman of the board of the speedway, in addition to its parent company, Hulman & Co., some four months ago. Sure, there was Indy’s 160-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ‘ actually, make that 170, thanks to a series of overtime crashes ‘ which to the surprise of no one was dominated by Kyle Busch and the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. That made George’s ascension to the chairman’s seat of his family’s companies the biggest story of the day, marking a comeback that rivals any we’ve ever seen on the executive side of the sport. The news broke in unorthodox fashion. George was voted into the chairman roles during Hulman & Co.’s annual meeting in March, but there was no public confirmation of the change until he was introduced as the IMS chairman over the Speedway’s public address system when he stepped out to give the command to start engines for Sunday’s race. Talk about a private company that really keeps things private. Now 56, George was named president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1989 when he was just 29 years old, kicking off a turbulent 20-year run. During his tenure, George brought NASCAR to Indianapolis with the first Brickyard 400 in 1994, and he also built a road course in the IMS infield that hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix from 2000-07. But George is more famous (or infamous) for creating the Indy Racing League and using the Indianapolis 500 as a bargaining chip in the quest to take control of Indy car racing from CART. The 13-year civil war between the two Indy car series from 1996-2008 caused huge damage to the sport, which it still continues to recover from. After Indy car racing was unified as the IndyCar Series under Hulman &. Co leadership, George resigned as the league’s CEO in 2009, and he relinquished his board roles in 2011. He was reinstated to the IMS and Hulman & Co. boards in 2013; with his 82-year-old mother Mari Hulman-George in failing health, his recent ascension to the chairman role doesn’t come as a surprise. Just family business. Still, the fact that Hulman & Co. chose not to publicize the move indicates they understand the perception of putting George back in charge still carries some public relations baggage with longtime Indy car fans ‘ even though as the board chairman, he will have little or no influence on the company’s day-to-day operations.(ESPN.com)(7-25-2016)
