New Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus has long been a behind-the-scenes figure at IMS. As the new leader of the
Brickyard and the Indy Racing League, he faces several challenging issues, including gaining the confidence of the racing
community.
New Speedway leader Jeff Belskus speaks with IBJ about his new job and the near-term challenges and long-term future of the
operations he oversees.
Reports of a Hulman-George family feud proved dead-on accurate when matriarch Mari Hulman-George issued a statement June
30 confirming the ouster of her son, Tony, as CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the family business empire. Shortly
thereafter, Tony George also resigned as CEO of the Indy Racing League.
A management shake-up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has some in the motorsports industry thinking major changes could
be on the horizon at the fabled race venue—maybe as soon as next year.
I went away after the Indianapolis 500 once again convinced I’d experienced the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but I didn’t
view the race with a critical eye like my pal Robin Miller did.
In the big picture of Indianapolis, we should never
forget that the Speedway and its events—the Indy 500 in particular—remain the 800-pound gorilla in our little corner of the
world.
Bill York, who has worked in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press room since 1958, is no longer with the Brickyard.
Simon & Schuster has hired former Sports Illustrated Executive Editor Charles
Leerhsen to write the story of the 1911 race and hopes to have it on bookstore shelves by the race’s centennial.
I have to comment regarding the latest articles [in the Nov. 10 issue] regarding the redevelopment of Speedway. While the articles were written very well and gave the impression that this redevelopment is a must for the community, I do not remember reading anything regarding the businesses that will be lost or the people who […]
As the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway approaches,
the town of Speedway, at long last, is making an aggressive play to turn the world-famous oval into an economic engine that
runs year-round.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials are in talks to move their Hall of Fame Museum from the interior of the oval to a spot
just outside the south end of the track, an area that could also house a new Speedway hotel.
Fans walking into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the First MotoGP race there Sept. 14 likely won’t recognize the place. Sponsor ads will hang on the inside walls of the track. There will be a host of companies in the hospitality area–including Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati and Repsol–that have never set foot inside the Speedway’s grounds. The motorcycle-specific nature of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP will permeate every facet of the event and affects all elements of the host city’s planning.
In the end, the catastrophic sponsorship shift from open-wheel racing to NASCAR became too much to ignore, driving the long-divided
sides of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League back into a unified series.
Shows provided by IMS Productions, the video production arm of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are among the top draws for Joost, a high-profile Internet provider of television content launched last October.
Speedway officials are in discussions
to bring an airplane race to Indianapolis. The Red Bull Air Race World Series is a 5-year-old airplane race circuit that combines
the intrigue of a high-wire circus
act, thrills of an alpine ski race, and cutting-edge technology of Formula One auto racing.
Bringing MotoGP–the world’s highest level of motorcycle racing–to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway could easily draw more
than 150,000 spectators and net an eight-figure windfall for track owner Tony George.
IMS Productions, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s video production arm, has agreed to be one of the primary content providers
for The Venice Project, a collaboration of big-name Internet entrepreneurs intent on shaking up the television industry by
launching a 30-plus-channel, TV-like network online.
