Full Throttle

Tony George resigned Tuesday as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ending a 19-year reign during which he brought NASCAR, Formula One and Moto GP to the famed race track but also divided (and unified) open-wheel racing by founding the Indy Racing League in 1996.

The family feud, Indianapolis Speedway’s, not the game show’s has come down to this: See-ya Tony, don’t let the pit gate hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

Reports of a serious rift among the descendants of Indianapolis Motor Speedway savior Anton Hulman Jr., better known as Tony Hulman have swirled for weeks and have come to fruition. Tony G is toast, history, a spot in the record books, albeit a big one but a spot none-the-less.

George is also out as president and CEO of the Hulman and Co. family business but will remain on the board of directors for Hulman-George companies and continue running his Vision Racing IndyCar Series team.

Gee, I wonder how thrilled the Vision Racing folks will be now that Tony presumably will be a more “hands-on” type owner?

But I digress.

“This place wakes up every morning and eats money,” George said in May. “We spend a lot of money keeping it in the condition we do.”

No doubt the bleeding is caused the estimated $100 million he spent on a road course for an F1 event that went bye-bye, plus a new press tower and new Pagoda.

“Tony will remain on the board of directors of all of our companies, and he will continue to work with the entire board to advance the interests of all of companies,” Mary Hulman George said. Our family and the entire racing community are grateful to Tony for the leadership and direction he has provided since 1990. “We are pleased that he will continue to be an important part of the Indy Racing League as a team owner and as a member of our board of directors, and we wish him every success.”

Translation: Tony’s been reduced to what amounts to a voting member of the board of directors, a single voice among many, and Mary Hulman is clicking her heels as if she were Alice in Wonderland.

Prediction: The mighty, and Half-Vast Staff™ of Full Throttle believes the first major move by the new chain-of-command will be to enlist the services of legendary NASCAR promoter Humpy Wheeler in an effort to right a sinking ship.