INDYCARNATION

Share |

Tong George, far left, and immediate family after Ed Carpenter qualified for the Indianapolis 500.

“I think you’re going to see the IRL take off after this.”
-- Buzz Calkins after winning the inaugural Indy Racing League event

Anton H. George joined Calkins in Victory Circle on that late January day in 1996 as clouds parted as if on cue and sunshine bathed the race winner as well as highlighted the Indy Racing League’s resolve.

George, who nurtured the project since he presented its architecture two years earlier, was pleased that the full house at Walt Disney World Speedway witnessed a competitive and entertaining show. He was relieved that the competitors walked away safely and were enthusiastic, and he allowed a smile of satisfaction in seeing the open-wheel racing venture buck the odds in getting on the track.

“I think they all performed very well and I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort,” the founder said post-race.

George, co-owner of Vision Racing, will be on pit lane this weekend at Kentucky Speedway in a different capacity. He'll watch his stepson, Ed Carpenter, compete in the 200th IZOD IndyCar Series race entered via collaboration with Panther Racing. It's the site where Carpenter and Vision Racing, which was established in 2005, recorded its highest finish (runner-up to Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe by 0.0162 of a second). Carpenter earned his first IZOD IndyCar Series pole Sept. 3.

Fifteen years and 200 events across three continents might seem like a long time, and in some ways it has been. To George, it’s been a whirlwind. His youngest child is a college sophomore and he’s a grandfather of three. He’s ridden the ebbs and flows of the league and family business, and presently is solely a series participant.

“It seems like only yesterday Firestone was commemorating the 100th Indy Racing League event at Nazareth Speedway,” George said of the August 2004 race won by Dan Wheldon.

“I was reflecting on it recently as we were packing up the meager trophy case at Vision Racing, preparing for our move. There, for the last six years, sat a beautiful crystal bowl, a trophy really, that Al Speyer presented me as founder and CEO, in recognition of the milestone. I paused for a moment and gave thanks for the support, the tremendous support that Firestone had provided not for 100 races, but for nearly 100 years.

“One hundred races later, it is not lost on me how much they and our other partners have meant to our success. However you measure it, it is enormous.

“Earlier this year, at the season opener in Brazil, I fell from the ranks of a very few who have been at every IRL race since its inception. I am happy that I will be at the 200th in hopes of seeing Ed win his first race after coming close last year at Kentucky.”

As A.J. Foyt, who also is a charter member of the Indy Racing League and a longtime friend of the Hulman-George family, said regarding the 200th race: “I wouldn’t still be coming if it wasn’t fun.”

Anton H. George, whose grandfather rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and who set a new course for open-wheel racing in 1996, obviously agrees with the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner (five times if you include the 1999 victory as a team owner with driver Kenny Brack).

“I suppose the 300th event will be here before we know it,” he said.