For nearly 74 years, the Hulman and George families have been stewards of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They have presided over the world’s largest single day sporting event, the Indianapolis 500, introduced Formula One, MotoGP, NASCAR and even the Red Bull Air Races to the vaunted acreage that comprises IMS and its surrounding area.
In a clearly emotional statement on Monday morning, Hulman and Co. board chairman Tony George announced his family’s sale of its ownership in IMS, the NTT IndyCar Series and IMS Production to Penske Corporation’s new subsidiary, Penske Entertainment. George spoke of his early remembrances of the Speedway, the race and the responsibilities of owning a vital piece of Indiana history and culture.
Just a year after family matriarch Mari Hulman George’s death, the properties she’d continually stated were being groomed for her children and their children’s heritage will no longer belong to her family. There were likely many reasons for the change, most notably the formation and cost of running the Indy Racing League (IRL), instigated by Tony George’s exclusion from decisions being made by the CART series that ran at Indy from the early 1980s until 1996.
When the IRL took over, it forced CART to hold its own 500-miler at Michigan International Speedway, just a couple of hours up the road from Indy.
The IRL was a costly proposition for Tony George and his backers. His three sisters went along, likely to placate their mother, but it’s been noted they were not happy with the manner in which their finances were being used. Even though current management led by Mark Miles has shown better financial results for Indy and the NTT IndyCar Series, it wasn’t the way the sisters wanted their monies spent.
Rumors have persisted about the sale of the Brickyard – they’ve come up once or twice a year, almost like seasonal adjustments. Would NASCAR be buying IMS and the series? That’s always been the question people asked. (When Hulman and Co. sold its cornerstone firm, Clabber Girl, earlier this year, the possible sale of the family’s racing entities became more of a probability.)
Occasionally Roger Penske’s name would come up, but the question of interest conflicts would move him to the background. Until Monday, that is, when he was announced as the fourth owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, along with the NTT IndyCar Series and IMS Productions. Immediately, conflict of interest questions arose. How could the 18-time winner of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing run his team, the Speedway and the series effectively without favoring his group over others?
There are more than 54,000 people working for Roger Penske in some way. From his Detroit perch, The Captain presides over dealerships, trucking companies, leasing entities and of course his huge racing empire headquartered outside Charlotte, N.C. Penske has never been afraid to delegate responsibility and has always understood the value of good management within easy reach of his own tentacles.
Penske expects that his trio of enterprises in Speedway, Ind. will be run as separate companies. “I think,” he said, “with a proper board,” there would be no conflicts. He did remind all that Tony George has been a car owner, “Wilbur Shaw or Eddie Rickenbacker (former track owners) have been drivers, so there’s been some history.
“I understand the integrity,” he declared, “and there’s got to be a bright line. I know what my job is, and hopefully I’ve got enough credibility with everyone that we can be sure that there is not a conflict. I’ll do my very best to be sure that isn’t. If you think it is,” Penske posed to the gathered media, “I hope that, I know that you folks will tell me pretty quick. So I’ve got a lot of guys watching me,” as he steps away from his current role as strategist atop a pit box.
What should give fans of the sport some big hopes for the future of IMS, INDYCAR and its media platform is Penske Corporation’s dedication to the sport. Whether it’s open wheel, stock cars, sports cars, Team Penske’s involvement has always been of the highest order. The fact that Roger Penske intends to keep a very proficient crew in place at the iconic 2.5-mile oval track speaks volumes. They know the history, they know the facility intimately and understand the responsibility of working at this venue.
But Tony George put it best when he spoke of the innate character of the track his family has watched over for nearly three-quarters of a century: “We’re passing the torch to an individual who has created an organization that is not only dynamic but it’s ideally suited, I think, to take over the stewardship, a corporation that is family-involved, much like ours. But with a track record that is really without compare.”
George expressed his and his family’s love for the property and the emotional toll the decision took on all of them. “I think we all realize that as a family and as an organization, we probably had taken it as far as we can. We’re very, very proud. We feel like we’re going to continue to be a part of it. Everyone who comes here has their own story; there are memories and accomplishments that make it special.”
Sentiments expressed by Tony George and his family won’t change the direction of the track or the series. Roger Penske and his management team can take their steps forward in increments as they work together to take the Hulman and George family accomplishments to an even higher level.
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