Tony George now has several less jobs in Motorsports - Resigns from IMS Board

Tony George - Team Owner, Vision Racing - Perhaps best known as the CEO and President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of the Indy Racing League, Anton “Tony” Hulman George also got into the team owning business when colleague and friend Tom Kelley put his IndyCar operation up for sale in 2004. Caption & Image Credit: Vision Racing

Tony George now has several less jobs in Motorsports - Resigns from IMS Board

Tony George resigned today from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Board of Directors. Last year, Robin Miller writing for SPEED TV cited a source close to the IMS that confirmed that the 49-year-old grandson of Tony Hulman would no longer be CEO of the Speedway after a vote of the IMS board of directors which includes mother Mari, sisters Josie, Nancy and Kathy, attorney Jack Snyder and George.

So now the ouster has been made complete ... Tony George is neither the CEO, or a mamber of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Board of Directors or any remaining role in Hulman & Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, IMS Productions and other affiliated companies.

This from a press release issued from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -

TONY GEORGE RESIGNS BOARD MEMBERSHIPS OF INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, HULMAN & COMPANY - INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 –

The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company and affiliated companies, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has received the resignation of Anton H. “Tony” George from the board of directors effective immediately, according to Mari Hulman George, chairman.

“As members of his family, we are sorry to see Tony leave,” said Mrs. George. “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 that clear to him. We are disappointed with his decision to step down despite our wishes.”

His resignation removes George from any remaining role in Hulman & Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, IMS Productions and other affiliated companies. His term as CEO of the family companies ended June 30, 2009. He continues to be involved in racing through his ownership of Vision Racing, a competitor in the IZOD IndyCar Series of the Indy Racing League.

The board vacancy will be addressed at a later date. In addition to Mari Hulman George, board members include Nancy George, Josie George, Kathi George-Conforti and Jack Snyder.

Mari Hulman George said she is very pleased with the direction of the company and the progress that has been made during the last six months.

“Our company is healthy and is weathering the economic recession well,” she said. “Jeff Belskus, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Curt Brighton, president and 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.”

Personally, we at The EDJE wish Tony great success as a car owner in the IZOD Indy Racing League. Great success in your sophomore year at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April 16-18, 2010.

... notes from The EDJE

New Year's jump in Long Beach nets Pastrana 269 feet

Daredevil, Travis Pastrana, previously noted for being the first to do a double backflip on a motorcycle, and winning four straight Rally America championships, lands his rally car successfully on a barge moored in the Long Beach, California harbor. Image Credit: Matt Kartozian, US Presswire

2010 New Year's jump in Long Beach nets Pastrana 269 feet

X Game standout and action sports regular Travis Pastrana set a new world record to open up the new year, 2010, on ESPN.

The daredevil shattered the world record for the longest jump in a rally car last Thursday night, making a nearly perfect flight of 269 feet from the Pine Street Pier onto a barge anchored in the harbor.

After teasing the crowd, estimated to near 20,000 thousand, with a warmup run down the 1,000-foot run-in and up the takeoff ramp, Pastrana took off in serious fashion, flying across approximately 200 feet of water to the landing ramp on the barge just a few minutes after midnight EST to bring in the new year.

His Subaru skidded sideways after landing and slammed into a wall at the end of the barge, but Pastrana emerged unscathed, ran to the end of the barge and after getting his response from the crowd, did a backflip into the Long Beach harbor water.

The old record was 171 feet set by Pastrana's Subaru teammate, Ken Block, in a rally car in November 2006. Pastrana wanted to break that mark by more than 100 feet.

"The flight was awesome," the 26-year-old daredevil said. "I couldn't have asked for anything better."

Asked to comment on his celebration jump from the Red Bull landing ramp into the harbor waters ... "It's soft," jester-ed Pastrana. "It was a lot colder than I anticipated."

He broke the old record by 98 feet.

"This is one of the cooler feelings, just to be part of something so huge," Pastrana continued. "It was kind of pass or fail. It was just a really good time and trying to push the envelope of what's possible in a car."

The stunt was the latest in Red Bull's New Year, No Limits series.

Happy 2010 to Travis Pastrana, Red Bull, Subaru, the City of Long Beach, and all who just love the setting of world record marks in this Motor Culture world.

... notes from The EDJE