Tony George - Open Wheel Hero or Zero
Is Tony George a hero to open wheel fans or
just a big zero?
I used to do computer consulting to
medium sized businesses. Many were family businesses that were on their second
or third generation of family owners. What I saw was common among the family
businesses. I saw the first generation owner as a leader, builder of the
business and devoted to making the business better. I saw the second generation
family owner as less caring, more playing. By the third and fourth generation of
family business owners, they were off playing more than running the business.
Not all family run businesses were this way, but
most.
Tony George
reminds me of my view of the typical family run business. He had everything
given to him, he hardly had to work at all to achieve the leadership role,
except to be born into it. Not that is always bad, but in this case, he has been
bad for open wheel racing in
general.
When he took
over, Indy was the center of open wheel racing. In auto racing, open wheel
racing was considered the top of the heap. The Indy 500 was the place to be in
May. Stock car racing and drag racing was minor league stuff in comparison.
Now, NASCAR is king,
the Indy 500 fields are down, TV ratings are off, there are two open wheel
groups competing against each other, and the luster is off the Indy 500. Not all
are Tony's fault, but he has lead the most laps in this race to destroy open
wheel racing.
His
latest bid to buy CART's holdings, and most likely close it down, shows he is
not serous in making open wheel racing better. He just wants it his way or no
way. His flip-flop on an all oval series to now maybe road courses is just
another example of how he is not a leader, but just playing. His original IRL
plan of all ovals, American drivers, cheap open wheel racing, is not even in the
picture any more.
The
IRL is not better than CART. If CART had the Indy 500, most sponsors and teams
would be in CART, not the IRL. Plain and simple. Most sponsors want to be in
NASCAR or the Indy 500. This may not be right, but it is the reality of today's
market. Most drivers want to run both ovals and road courses. Most fans want to
see the best drivers, from any country. He does not have the best track to watch
a auto race, nor the best track to drive, but he does have tradition going for
the Indy 500. This is still the place to be in May for open wheel fans, teams
and drivers.
I think
Tony should go back to being just a track owner. He has enough to do just
getting the Indy 500 back to former place in auto racing. He has open wheel
racing at the track along with NASCAR and F1. His plate is pretty full with just
that.
He should let
the IRL and CART get back together. The top division in open wheel racing should
have both ovals and road courses, a larger car count, and a larger fan base.
Getting back together will be hard, long and leave some bloody, but it has to be
done. Having CART go away will not improve the IRL or open wheel
racing.
Come on Tony,
it is time to may your forbears proud. It is time to make open wheel's top
division better than when you took over as track owner, not worse. It is time to
move forward.
Posted: Tue - March 23, 2004 at 12:36 PM