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IndyCar
MILLER: Amateur Hour At 16th & Georgetown
Jeff Belskus makes the big money as IMS CEO and should be out in front of this mess.
IMS CEO Jeff Belskus, left, has been silent in offering public support for Randy Bernard, middle, in recent months, and has done little to calm the wave of negativity that's overcome IndyCar. (Photo: LAT)
Not sure where the Indianapolis media has been getting its “breaking news” about Randy Bernard all week but this story has become a bigger embarrassment than anything USAC ever did in its heyday of ineptitude.
Starting last Tuesday, the word came down that Bernard had been fired on Monday as CEO of IndyCar and the locals reporting it claimed they were being fed the information by somebody well connected in the sport. It escalated again Friday with a report in the Indianapolis Business Journal that Bernard had been terminated.
Now I don’t know if it’s coming from IMS CEO Jeff Belskus, Brian Barnhart, Tony George, a board member, a disgruntled IndyCar staffer, a car owner, a series partner or a former employee but obviously the media isn’t making things up just for the sake of it.
What I do know is that it’s amateur hour at 16th & Georgetown.
And nothing was more pathetic than the quote issued by Doug Boles of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon.
“Randy has not been terminated and his employment status is the same as it was last week and last month,” said Boles. “At this point, Randy is not fired. That is the case in the moment and in the future.”
What a vote of confidence…. “At this point Randy is not fired.” Does that mean give us a couple days to put together a proper press release to make the announcement or we haven’t had the balls to tell Josie George just yet?
I’m not blaming Boles, hell he’s the public relations director and maybe he’s just repeating the company line. But it’s not Doug’s job to speak on this volatile subject, at least it shouldn’t be.
Belskus makes the big money as CEO and president of Hulman & Company and IMS and he should be out in front of this mess. If, in fact, Bernard’s future is safe then Belskus needs to put out a statement with some teeth in it and back him. Hell, he and the board should have done it the day TG resigned from Hulman & Company last week.
If not, then at least have the decency and class to tell Bernard the board has voted him out (which I don’t think it has since they haven’t met this week) or there’s a forthcoming vote on his future that looks bad.
Nobody deserves this daily dose of National Enquirer treatment, especially someone who has worked as hard as Bernard.
All this does is make IndyCar look like a second-rate organization that is out of control because there is no unity or communication between the series, home office and board of directors.
And it’s not only damaging to current or potential sponsors, tracks and promoters, I’m sure it’s becoming a real concern to partners Honda, GM, IZOD and APEX Brazil. If you don’t think they’re all evaluating what in the hell is going on, I think you’d be mistaken.
I’m really starting to question the wisdom of this new board. They’re supposed to look at bottom lines, big picture and what’s down the road for IndyCar. The IBJ story claims losing a few million with the China cancellation may have sealed Bernard’s fate because he promised them a break-even year in 2012.
Really? Does anybody seriously wonder how much more the IRL lost per year compared to Bernard's three seasons?
Starting last Tuesday, the word came down that Bernard had been fired on Monday as CEO of IndyCar and the locals reporting it claimed they were being fed the information by somebody well connected in the sport. It escalated again Friday with a report in the Indianapolis Business Journal that Bernard had been terminated.
Now I don’t know if it’s coming from IMS CEO Jeff Belskus, Brian Barnhart, Tony George, a board member, a disgruntled IndyCar staffer, a car owner, a series partner or a former employee but obviously the media isn’t making things up just for the sake of it.
What I do know is that it’s amateur hour at 16th & Georgetown.
And nothing was more pathetic than the quote issued by Doug Boles of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon.
“Randy has not been terminated and his employment status is the same as it was last week and last month,” said Boles. “At this point, Randy is not fired. That is the case in the moment and in the future.”
What a vote of confidence…. “At this point Randy is not fired.” Does that mean give us a couple days to put together a proper press release to make the announcement or we haven’t had the balls to tell Josie George just yet?
I’m not blaming Boles, hell he’s the public relations director and maybe he’s just repeating the company line. But it’s not Doug’s job to speak on this volatile subject, at least it shouldn’t be.
Belskus makes the big money as CEO and president of Hulman & Company and IMS and he should be out in front of this mess. If, in fact, Bernard’s future is safe then Belskus needs to put out a statement with some teeth in it and back him. Hell, he and the board should have done it the day TG resigned from Hulman & Company last week.
If not, then at least have the decency and class to tell Bernard the board has voted him out (which I don’t think it has since they haven’t met this week) or there’s a forthcoming vote on his future that looks bad.
Nobody deserves this daily dose of National Enquirer treatment, especially someone who has worked as hard as Bernard.
All this does is make IndyCar look like a second-rate organization that is out of control because there is no unity or communication between the series, home office and board of directors.
And it’s not only damaging to current or potential sponsors, tracks and promoters, I’m sure it’s becoming a real concern to partners Honda, GM, IZOD and APEX Brazil. If you don’t think they’re all evaluating what in the hell is going on, I think you’d be mistaken.
I’m really starting to question the wisdom of this new board. They’re supposed to look at bottom lines, big picture and what’s down the road for IndyCar. The IBJ story claims losing a few million with the China cancellation may have sealed Bernard’s fate because he promised them a break-even year in 2012.
Really? Does anybody seriously wonder how much more the IRL lost per year compared to Bernard's three seasons?
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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