Growing up a “Steinbrenner” young George Michael Steinbrenner, IV of the family namesake understands how important it is to get the call to join the “Major Leagues.”
George Michael is the grandson of the late George Steinbrenner, the legendary owner of the New York Yankees who helped the team return to glory in Major League Baseball with many World Series triumphs under his regime.
Steinbrenner’s father is Hank Steinbrenner, co-owner of the Yankees along with his brother, Hal, and the managing general partner of the team.
On Sunday, March 10 in the season-opening NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Steinbrenner gets to experience the “Major Leagues” of open wheel racing. The 22-year-old co-owner of Harding Steinbrenner Racing has been a partner and friend of the team’s driver, 18-year-old Colton Herta,to help get to this moment.
“To the uninitiated, I always referred to the ‘Road to Indy Ladder System’ as Single A, Double A, Triple A and then the Majors,” Steinbrenner told the NTT INDYCAR App. “After using that analogy so many times, it couldn’t be more true.
“It’s the major leagues. It’s the top flight, open-wheel racing in North America. It’s the major leagues of racing. It’s been the goal to get to the majors. Hopefully, now we can compete in the major leagues of another sport.”
The team made its IndyCar debut in the final race of the 2018 season at Sonoma Raceway with Herta finishing 20th after starting 19th. Patricio O’Ward also started a Harding Steinbrenner car in that race and finished night after starting fifth.
O’Ward is no longer part of that team, but Herta is set for his first full season in IndyCar.
The starting point is St. Petersburg, Florida, very close to home for young Steinbrenner and across the Tampa Bay from the New York Yankees’ spring training facility in Tampa.
“It’s always a nice, happy, convenient time of year for me,” Steinbrenner said. “I came down early to take in a few of the Yankees spring training games. We test at Sebring on March 4 and then we will be ready to go to St. Pete. I get a nice re-introduction to the baseball world and the start of the IndyCar season.
“March to September is the best time of the year.”
St. Petersburg has always been special to Steinbrenner when he was growing up.
“It’s a home track for me,” he said. “I grew up 20 minutes north of the track. It’s always been a home race for me. It was the race I would always go to as a kid even before traveling to the Indianapolis 500. It’s a special place in my heart. For it to be our first race is special to me.
“It’s the first race Colton won in junior formula in North America in Indy Lights in 2017. That started our journey where we are now and is a big piece of that.
“Colton will go out there and show a lot of people his determination and his unwavering will to win and not much focus on anything else, especially when he has that visor down and is inside the car.”
Steinbrenner will spend some time with the Yankees before heading across the bridge to St. Petersburg once activities begin for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg next week.
He would like to bring a few of the Yankees with him, but with a “Grapefruit League” schedule of spring training games that keeps the Yankees in action nearly every day, that won’t be possible.
“It’s been something we’ve always looked at, but we have yet to come across a Sunday afternoon when they are not playing,” Steinbrenner said. “We have been able to get some of the team personnel and executives over to the races and a few that have shown great interest in the team. Folks who have been with the Yankees since I was a little kid want to come over and support what I’m doing.
“As far as players, there seems to always be a conflict. It’s understandable because it’s the start of a busy time for them, too.”