Next Sunday night former Lowe’s Motor Speedway president and general manager H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler will be the guest on Speed Channel’s Wind Tunnel. You may recall that Wheeler, a well-known race promoter, was a visitor to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indianapolis 500 last month.
Wheeler was asked if he would be willing to help the IRL as he is no longer involved at Charlotte. He answered that he would.
The regular board meeting of the Hulman-George family followed the May 24 race. President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Hulman George was reported to have been asked to resign during that meeting. Chairperson Mari Hulman George, Tony’s mother, later made a statement that the CEO had been asked to develop a plan to concentrate on the Indy Racing League. Other board members are Tony George’s sisters as the Speedway and other associated entities are privately held by the family.
So who invited Humpy to the Speedway? That and other questions may be sent via e-mail to windtunnel@speedtv.com for next week’s broadcast.
06.15.2009
Hunter-Reay Joins Foyt Racing
The Indianapolis Star reported during the past week that Ryan Hunter-Reay had joined Foyt Racing, owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, Jr. He will replace Vitor Meira, who sustained injuries in a wild crash during the recent Indy 500.
On Speed’s Wind Tunnel the reason reported for Hunter-Reay’s availability was that Vision Racing has suspended the operations of the #21 team. Hunter-Reay carried the Izod/William Rast sponsorships. The former, a Phillips-Van Heusen company, provides the official apparel for the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Firestone Indy Lights. The latter is a jeans company co-owned by entertainer Justin Timberlake.
Hunter-Reay joined Vision, owned by Hulman George family members, early this year when Rahal-Letterman Racing could not secure sponsorship to maintain his seat there. The car had been sponsored by an American ethanol association in 2008, which league replaced as the official fuel supplier with a Brazilian entity.
During the local telecast of the 500 Festival Parade in May, Derek Daley noted that Hunter-Reay is engaged to driver Robby Gordon’s sister Becky.
Gordon has driven for Foyt in past Indy 500s. The car owner is also known to be very close to the Hulman George family. The two associations may have provided a path to the seat for the Indy 500’s 2008 Rookie-of-the-Year.
Twenty-plus years ago it was referred to as being one of the Good Ol’ Boys or calling in a favor. Today it’s called networking. Whatever it’s called, the system typically honors meritorious efforts and RHR has proven he deserves a ride.
Hunter-Reay was noticeably unhappy during May. In addition, his qualification for the 500-mile race was the result of a last-minute Bump Day struggle that placed him 33rd in the starting field. Finally, his sophomore effort at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended in a pit road crash with only 19 laps completed.
Although he advanced in both the Milwaukee and Texas races, he didn’t make the top 10in either event. Foyt’s recent history doesn’t promise any better results but it will keep him in the league.
Izod seemed to be building an advertising campaign around the good-looking, American driver prior to RLR’s announcement that they were not participating in the 2009 IndyCar Series season. Was Hunter-Reay picked up by Vision Racing to maintain the Izod sponsorship? What has happened to the car sponsorship since Milwaukee?
The Indy Racing League’s switch to Brazilian ethanol for race fuel incensed many American farm organizations, including the Indiana Farm Bureau, prior to the season. Was it the reason why RLR lost their sponsorship and caused the young driver to become a journeyman?
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