And if Dave Furst, Dave Calabro or Chris Hagan needed a driver for a live sports show on Sunday night in Indianapolis, Shunck would chauffeur them to the station. He was always willing to do whatever it took to get IndyCar some publicity – like flying to Fontana for a test, flying back all night and then going to work and posting the videos with barely any sleep.

Last February, he convinced ESPN to let Graham Rahal deliver the GameDay panel’s picks on Super Bowl Sunday by driving his Dallara up to the Sports Center stage with the IZOD girl in tow. It was the best PR IndyCar has had in 20 years and it happened because of Steve’s connections.

Truth be told, he should have been PR director for IMS because nobody knows or cares more about the Indy 500 and nobody sells it better.

It's likely the people who deleted Shunck's position had no idea he was the catalyst that brought Indy car's past and present together, or that they've infuriated most of today's drivers. (Photo: IMS Photo)

But the IndyCar series needed his contacts, ideas and energy even more -- at least I thought they did.

Shunck was informed Tuesday his job was being eliminated. But at least they waited until he’d finished a day’s work (on his vacation no less) shooting some video with Helio Castroneves. What class.

On the heels of Bernard’s overthrow, this is the second mindless act of Jeff Belskus & Company in the past two months.

Shunck was the ONLY person in either PR department (IndyCar or IMS) who had any credibility with the national media or the drivers. He’s good at getting things done and that puts him in an elite class at 16th & Georgetown.

Several drivers, old and current, called Tuesday night and wondered if there was anything they could do to correct this travesty. I said I supposed they could write Mark Miles a letter or give him a call. He starts his job as CEO of Hulman & Company on Monday and maybe he’d like to right this wrong.

Someone suggested that Shunck was on borrowed time because he was a “Randy guy.” First off all, he was an Indy guy long before Bernard and always will be. Secondly, why should your hiring history have an effect on your job status? Especially when you out-perform 99 percent of the people who draw a check from West 16th Street?

The list of poor PR hires in IndyCar and at IMS is a long one so they finally get the perfect guy for the job and send him packing to save $70,000?

Belskus may be good with numbers but obviously knows nothing about people and performance. And IndyCar is a lot worse today for his lack of judgment.

Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED