tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post7981204042486352172..comments2023-04-27T04:20:37.175-07:00Comments on My Name Is IRL: Robin: Tony George fired from IMS boardIannuccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15120192496901254768noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-5622960077659082202009-05-29T09:24:16.274-07:002009-05-29T09:24:16.274-07:00Robin Miller is to journalism as Dr. Jack Miller i...Robin Miller is to journalism as Dr. Jack Miller is to Indycar driver.<br /><br />(sorry Jack, I know that's a bit harsh.)DZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11062720952751436450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-24407263843218689372009-05-28T14:35:12.631-07:002009-05-28T14:35:12.631-07:00"... a decision to dismiss (Tony) George came at T..."... a decision to dismiss (Tony) George came at Tuesday night's board of directors meeting."<br /><br />Tony said on TV the board meeting was Tuesday morning. And if there was a meeting that night, "he was not aware of it."<br /><br />The Star changed "Tuesday night" to "Tuesday" very shortly after it was posted on their website....<br /><br />Hmmmmmmmmm.........Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-74453534756116058512009-05-28T09:25:16.696-07:002009-05-28T09:25:16.696-07:00More wrong? You can have revenue without profit, ...More wrong? You can have revenue without profit, did you know that?<br /><br />"Analysts estimate George has poured more than $250 million into the series in its 13 seasons. When asked in the New York forum if the league had turned a profit, George <br />responded, “Not yet.” "<br /><br />ABC/ESPN's former contract was only good for $10M/year in the past... Their 5 races and the Versus deal is worth a fraction of that now. The actual amounts will be clear later.<br /><br />The series is hoping for a title sponsor to pony up about $10M next year. <br /><br />Nobody estimates that Honda, firestone, Izod, Apex, Orbitz, Hotwheels and National Guard series sponsorships combine to exceed $25M.<br /><br />That means that total reveneues are in the ballpark of $35M or so.<br />Meanwhile annual expenses are estimated to be $50-70M!<br /><br />How on earth do you think that Revenues exceed Expenditures here?<br /><br />Hell, the TEAM program is an expense of $24M or so/year on it's own. Hell, even sselling 250,000 seats at $96 a pop only makes that break even... nevermind the fact that guys like Tim Frost estimate the net profit of the Indy 500 to be somewhere between 15 and 25 Million a year.<br /><br />If you are one of three sisters who's grandmother was the richest woman in the U.S. in 1985 (and one of Forbe's richest people that year) and you realize that the IRL is eating up all of your IMS profits, KRAFT is launching a price war against Clabber Girl,and your personal savings disappeared last October with everyone's 401K's, don't you think you'd be doing something about a blight on your family income?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11167685006156929367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-19674081454983269302009-05-28T08:26:24.393-07:002009-05-28T08:26:24.393-07:00seems to me the IRL is doing okay after quite a lo...seems to me the IRL is doing okay after quite a long rough period. they are getting some great drivers with interesting personalities, solidifying and growing their schedule and they have a ten-year television deal. <br /><br />I'll worry about their demise when they've done demised.redd carrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-43732839174598998082009-05-28T07:23:05.649-07:002009-05-28T07:23:05.649-07:00Wow, Scott, could you possibly be more wrong?
The...Wow, Scott, could you possibly be more wrong?<br /><br />The broadcast revenue alone from ABC/ESPN and Versus is more than enough to run the IRL for the year. The TEAM program (i.e. revenue sharing; in order to SHARE revenue you must first HAVE revenue) is funded by track-paid sanctioning fees.<br /><br />This ain't the broadcast-time-buying CCWS or ALMS...Dale Nixonhttp://www.poisonedpens.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-50626564110633011172009-05-27T17:52:37.561-07:002009-05-27T17:52:37.561-07:00The series is already in jeopardy. It hasn't turn...The series is already in jeopardy. It hasn't turned a profit yet and most of the field depends on subsidies from an unprofitable league to even run. On top of that, the majority of the family does not want to sink any more money into it.<br /><br />When 2013 rolls around the family will be running Clabber Girl and the Speedway and that's all. Notice that this move puts Tony completely out of the picture when it comes to the speedway making a deal with any future third party that would govern a series running Indy in May?<br /><br />If you remember Tony bankrolling this series, you are remembering wrong. The entire family has bankrolling the series and has made legal moves in the past to protect certain parts of the Hulman trust from being raided to fund the series.<br /><br />The phrase "cut our losses" is quite popular in certain buildings around speedway these days.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11167685006156929367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-72056593487139440272009-05-27T12:46:55.023-07:002009-05-27T12:46:55.023-07:00Well, this is all just very uncomfortable.Well, this is all just very uncomfortable.Jennifer Coomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15144695641505947308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-27966216431585191302009-05-27T11:41:00.529-07:002009-05-27T11:41:00.529-07:00I think the great debate is whether Tony's ouster ...I think the great debate is whether Tony's ouster would be good or bad for open wheel. Everyone's knee jerk reaction is "Good, of course." <br /><br />But let's remember that he has been bankrolling the sport for several years. I think ultimately it could be a very good thing for everyone, but in the short term the series would be in jeopardy...Demond Sandershttp://www.18to88.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-26809350775488533592009-05-27T11:26:45.293-07:002009-05-27T11:26:45.293-07:00I hate to spread rumors, but I hear that they are ...I hate to spread rumors, but I hear that they are actually considering Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe as potential replacements...Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04298208634838532121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-47399098331238079742009-05-27T11:21:15.100-07:002009-05-27T11:21:15.100-07:00As P-Dog would say....
"Cue the circus music!"
My...As P-Dog would say....<br />"Cue the circus music!"<br /><br />My question is this.... if both Tony and MHG said the meeting was "typical" I'd almost have to believe that at least maybe the conversations have come up before. He provided a "bail out" before the phrase "bail out" was even in vogue. <br /><br />Hey, maybe the "source" purposely gave the info to Robin to make him look like a fool AND generate a bit of buzz..... wishful thinking, I know.SS Minnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15299919045995368322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-30625531354808122392009-05-27T11:16:18.307-07:002009-05-27T11:16:18.307-07:00I'm...feeling a little dizzy over here. Has anybod...I'm...feeling a little dizzy over here. Has anybody got any Dramamine? And maybe some Tums and Stoli to wash it down with?<br /><br />Whatever's going on, I'm blaming the whole thing on that Hobbson guy. No posts over there since before the 500? Mark my words, that guy is up to no good.The SpeedGeekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515637541673575394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-14808343692618735382009-05-27T11:03:24.928-07:002009-05-27T11:03:24.928-07:00The hatchet some wanted to bury now that we are in...The hatchet some wanted to bury now that we are in the sophomore year of unification, ended up in family hands ... and was used.The EDJEhttp://theedje.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-53812235719536162162009-05-27T11:01:54.568-07:002009-05-27T11:01:54.568-07:00Whether he was removed or not, pressdog and I are ...Whether he was removed or not, pressdog and I are already privately speculating if Tony George is catching grief from the family for allowing bloggers into the media center.Iannuccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15120192496901254768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-355678030920849412009-05-27T11:00:09.221-07:002009-05-27T11:00:09.221-07:00Jeff,
Maybe Tony George gave the order to keep He...Jeff,<br /><br />Maybe Tony George gave the order to keep <I>Helio!</I> from climbing the fence, and that's why he got fired.<br /><br />Okay, <I>you</I> come up with a better rumor! :^Pmmacknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-46989735511277920722009-05-27T10:40:33.467-07:002009-05-27T10:40:33.467-07:00If this story is true, given the Hulman-George fam...If this story is true, given the Hulman-George family connections at the Speedway, a reasonable guess is the rest of the family got tired of watching their inheritance shrink over the years. <br /><br />Following up on Pressdog's link, the 2013 date could have been "given" to Tony George by the rest of the family, as in "The IRL stands by itself by 2013, <B>or else</B>!" Perhaps the board "relieved" Tony of his duties at IMS to focus on figuring out exactly how to acheive that goal. You know, reduce some of the outside distractions and all. <br /><br />We live in interesting times, my friends.mmacknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-41468399255099229422009-05-27T10:31:29.034-07:002009-05-27T10:31:29.034-07:00This is a bogus report. Several Indianapolis medi...This is a bogus report. Several Indianapolis media outlets are reporting that TG is still in charge.Gurney Eaglenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-53174444057192970042009-05-27T10:23:26.829-07:002009-05-27T10:23:26.829-07:00Well, Humpy Wheeler has me kind of scratching my h...Well, Humpy Wheeler has me kind of scratching my head too. He's been a brilliant promoter over on "our" side of things, but I don't know how well that fits with Indy, unless they want to bring him on strictly to promote the Brickyard 400 side of things.<br /><br />This feels more like a big middle finger towards Bruton Smith than anything else.<br /><br />And on the tire situation, Goodyear still sucks, but in a series that has effectively banned all testing, uh, "our sanctioning body" (see, I'm being good, I'm dancing around it) has allowed Goodyear to drag two dozen guys to Indy to test new compounds and such this year. The only other tire tests they've done have featured usually just four drivers. So, Goodyear is at least pretending to be serious. Maybe it will make a difference at the Brickyard.<br /><br />In any event, I still think this one-tire make crap in each of our series has to stop. The multiple tire compound trick that Indy & F1 uses is intriguing, but I still think some good, old-fashioned competition would help make things better.Restrictor Platedhttp://www.restrictorplated.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-3987995922284278672009-05-27T10:08:40.007-07:002009-05-27T10:08:40.007-07:00There is a God....There is a God....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25142730.post-51241548412418968802009-05-27T09:39:51.176-07:002009-05-27T09:39:51.176-07:00Recall this story: http://tinyurl.com/chj6ej about...Recall this story: http://tinyurl.com/chj6ej about George saying they expected the IRL to at least break even soon. Everyone said "HE WAS JOKING!" Ah, not sure in light of these developments.pressdoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116626812974787639noreply@blogger.com