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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Tony George Resigns From IMS
Tony George has left the buildings. That would be the one on West 16th Street known as the IMS and the one in Terre Haute known as Hulman & Company.
Robin Miller  |  Posted January 19, 2010   Indianapolis, IN
Tony George. (LAT)
Tony George has left the buildings.

That would be the one on West 16th Street known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the one in Terre Haute known as Hulman & Company.

In a story first reported by SPEEDtv.com shortly before it became official on Tuesday afternoon, George has resigned his seats on the IMS board of directors and Hulman & Company.

This comes eight months after George was ousted by his family as president and CEO of IMS and then declined to step in as president of the IRL, the series he started in 1996.

“Yes, of course, I am surprised by it and I didn’t think Tony could walk away from it …. it’s unfortunate for everybody,” replied Jeff Belskus, the longtime IMS chief financial officer who assumed Tony’s duties of IMS president and CEO last June, when asked about TG’s latest move.

“There are a lot of hurt feelings on both sides.”

George, who was paid for being on both boards, is currently out of the country and couldn’t be reached for comment but his mother, Mari Hulman George, issued a statement on her son’s decision.

“As members of his family, we are sorry to see Tony leave,” said Mari Hulman George, who is also IMS chairman of the board. “We are grateful for his service to our company as a board member and of course for formerly serving as CEO and president of our companies. I speak for our whole family in wishing him well.

“All of us had hoped that Tony would continue to serve on the board and we made it clear to him. We are disappointed with his decision to step down despite our wishes.”

The 50-year-old grandson of IMS savior Anton Hulman has been at odds with his three sisters (Kathi, Nancy and Josie) for several years over the amount of money that was spent -- starting and keeping the IRL afloat.

It finally came to a head last May, when George was voted out of power by the six-member board, which also includes his mother and longtime family attorney Jack Snyder. The board vacancy will be addressed at a later date, according to the IMS release.

“Our company is healthy and weathering the economic recession well,” said Mari Hulman George. “Jeff Belskus (president and CEO of IMS) and Curt Brighton (president & CEO of Hulman & Company) are both doing excellent jobs in guiding our companies through this difficult time. Many hard decisions have been made and now our companies are well positioned for the future.”

Both IMS and IndyCar have laid off several employees since late in 2009 and more are expected.

George seemed content to run his one-car Vision Racing team with step-son Ed Carpenter and has been supportive of the proposed Delta Wing project (a new Indy car for 2012 owned by several IndyCar owners).

But, without longtime sponsor John Menard on board for 2010, George is scrambling to keep Carpenter on the track. Recently, in a team meeting, he reportedly told his crew that he hadn’t given up and was searching for sponsorship but it was possible the season might only include Indy and a couple of ovals.

George also told his crew that if they were approached with a good, full-time offer, they might want to take it.

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale: Jan 19th-24th
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