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in the end we have two stories....robins is rife with agenda.... and the the IMS press release reeks of damage control...
but in the end they really aren't that different
I suspect the bottomline is that IMS will not be funding the IRL anymore.... certainly not to the tune of 100's of millions
I remember a thread two weeks ago where I was vilified for suggesting Robin wasnt much of a journalist. I like reading his stuff...I just dont take him too seriously.Quote:
Originally Posted by DBell
I feel a little vindicated now. He called the cars toilets.....I guess that's where his career is headed.
Ken - let me start off with I'm sorry we didn't get together at the 500 Sunday. Beyond that, I am disgusted with Robin's article and I am lost where you see damage control in the following:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken
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."
At the very least, it politely indicated without saying it that Robin Miller doesn't know what he is talking about; Tony George is the CEO of IMS. Lest we forget, Robin said he was ousted.
If Robin would have reported that the board was upset and that they gave him a deadline to present a plan for success, that would have been easier to swallow. That is happening more and more all the time in any number of corporations and I wouldn't be surprised at all that they gave him a deadline with an or else clause.
Where in that statement do you see they have reduced funding of the IRL or are you referring to the truth as Robin knows it?
If you want to see damage control, check out the SPEEDTV.com website; the story still has the 5/27/2009 10:06 AM posting time but it is now significantly different from the original post.
You and I can have agendas in this forum; a commentator is not supposed to use his electronic soapbox to promote his agenda.
I look forward to the continued debate over the way to proceed with open wheel racing without Robin making a fool of himself and getting the rest of us all stirred up.
Wilf,
Robin is not that stupid. I don't think the fat lady has sung the aria yet. Let's just say for the sake of argument that Robin did get most of the story right and that the George family was not ready for the rest of the world to know it. Wouldn't the type of statement Mari made be exactly the sort of damage control that would be called for? Using the cover Mari just provided, TG can now prepare a plan that has him step down from IMS operations and say it was all his idea. Saving face and tamping down the istory of the inter-family squabble. Just sayin'...
There is after all precedent for this sort of action, how many times was the unification denied before they finally came clean?
Because of the press release, not in spite of it, I think the jury is still out on TG's role at IMS. But I do agree with you on the funding of the IRL. The bit about the IRL being their biggest growth opportunity blows a big hole in Ken's idea this means less funding for the IRL.
Gary
This is perhaps an optimistic view of it, and also very naive, but here's my interpretation of this from IndyCar.com:
"At a regular meeting of the board of directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, board members asked George to devise a plan for management of Hulman and Company, the Indy Racing League, Clabber Girl and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that would allow him to focus on the business that requires the greatest attention."
Tony is being asked to do less, he's maybe being told that he's doing some things well, but he's got his hands in too many pots at the moment. He needs to focus on a few key areas that he believes he can make improvements in. Maybe that includes IMS, maybe IRL, the specific areas are to be determined. But in his current role they believe he has too much power, too much responsibility, and the board wants to relieve him of some of that responsibility. This is different from what Miller said, although Miller was not really that far off the mark. The truth seem so be somewhere in the middle, between what Miller said, and what was said in the press conference. The most significant detail is that, right now, George is still the CEO. In the bigger picture, I see this as perhaps a good thing. One of the issues most of us have had with the IRL is that they are very reluctant to make changes, they move at a very slow pace on any significant decisions. I think new leadership in certain areas could be a good thing. A significant drop in funding to the IRL, if this happens, is not such a good thing. But I think the league will survive, perhaps with a moderately reduced field, less a race or two, and an even higher number of pay-to-play drivers. I don't think this will have an immediate drastic impact, and maybe 3-5 years from now will be better for the series.
no reason for you to be sorry... I was the slacker on this one.... there were three others in the group....i was not the leader of the bunch etc etc...Quote:
Originally Posted by Wilf
had a great time....racing fri sat and sun... IMS is very impressive... I went in 94'.....but I didnt I fully appreciated the place
anyhow...maybe Chicago....
heres a question
someone fed Robin some info .......personnaly I wonder who?...maybe one of the sisters?... anyone know one or more of them?.... is there one that might be a bit more miffed than the rest?
rereading Robins article it's clear he got a big fat boner and the blood ran from one place to the other and he got more than carried away with Glee...
as far as IMS is concerned I suspect they didn't think the details of the meeting would be known much less reported.....certainlynot the next morning
I believe Tony has indeed been voted out as CEO of IMS....but it wasn't supposed to take place until later in the year....reality 2009 is 1/3 done... and the next 2 events are past the planning stage and only need to be executed at the point
as far as your specific paragraph and damage control....
it perfectly sets the stage for Tony to step away from IMS etc and remain in control of the IRL and give it his 100% attention.....
IMO this is not over....but will actually play out over the remainder of 2009...
as far as Gary thinking theres a big hole in my OPINION that the IRL will no longer be funded by the IMS coffers.....Time will be very telling I suspect
I have know love for Robin Miller.....Hell I have major issues with Miller.
But I heard the same story from what are probably the same source........Miller should stand by the story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken
Ken,
I realized it was your opinion, didn't intend to imply anything else. Sorry if it sounded like I was.
Yes, time will tell. But the fact that Mari made the point that they considered the IRL as their biggest growth opportunity makes me think they aren't looking to pull back any time soon.
Gary
Gary, time will tell, but what I've seen in the last year is that TG has already been cutting back significantly on the free money. In 08 and with the new Team program they were handing out money all over the place to make sure unification went smoothly. But I see a comment, like the 2013 one, in the context of today's events, and I think that profitability is as big a concern as any in the series right now, and that this profitability will need to be reached soon, and with less $$ from Hulman George to help it along. What they may be hoping for is a unique and creative talent to come on board, maybe a Humpy Wheeler, who can inexpensively get things rolling in the right direction. Throwing money at it hasn't had the desired results, and they simply do not have or want to throw more money at it. As I said earlier, I don't think there's going to be these drastic cuts or changes in the next 12-24 months, but things will become a little more difficult moneywise for the team owners. And if things do not pan out for the popularity of the series, than more significant steps will be taken, and I think we can all imagine what those would be. I don't see the series disappearing anytime soon, but ownership and exclusivity in the marketplace could once again be issues. And personally, I do not want to see OW go through that again.
Absolutely. Miller did not just decide to write such an article without some form of confirmation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lousada
My belief is that it took the Hulman's off guard.
Open wheel is better off without this guy. Empty tracks and paying to get drivers in cars. Sound familiar. All the hypocrites that left to form the IRL and xenophobic endeavors have now had to eat crow as a result of their greed.
All they could see was American companies sponsoring American drivers in roundy round racing like NASCAR. Well , it didn't work and won't and now they started looking at China.
The right decision last year would have been to merge with Champcar. Have KK as the CEO and allow the venues such as Mexico, the Low Countries , China and Australia to remain.
With what is happening in F1, Champ Car would be a steal for any sponsor and it would not take Long for Network to pick it up. Although my proviso would be to make sure that Versus had the time and the production. I want to see Viso, Fisher, Wilson and others. Even Dario is beginning to annoy me.
Come on PT. Bye Bye TG