Tony George resigns from board which controls IndyCar

Tony George has resigned his position on Hulman & Company’s Board of Directors, which not only owns and operates IndyCar, but the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well.

The move by George, effective immediately, comes as he is in the midst of leading a group that has made a bid to buy IndyCar. By resigning, he eliminates any perceived conflict of interest as the board decides whether to accept his offer of purchase, which as reported by the Sports Business Journal is a “seven-figure cash proposal.”

“I realize that my recent efforts to explore the possibility of acquiring IndyCar represent the appearance of a conflict, and it is in everyone’s best interest that I resign from the Hulman & Company board,” George said in a statement Friday evening. “It goes without saying that I want to do what is best for this organization.”

George is the former CEO of IndyCar and IMS, and is seeking to regain control of the series which he founded in 1994 and ran until he was ousted in 2009.

In a statement released by Hulman & Company, president and CEO Jeff Belskus reiterated that the board is not interested in selling IndyCar.

“Tony George has made the difficult decision to resign from the board because of his involvement with a group that has recently expressed an interest in purchasing the Hulman & Company-owned IndyCar organization,” Belskus said. “While the business is not for sale and no offers to sell it have been considered or are being considered, we applaud Tony’s efforts to resolve the appearance of a conflict and appreciate the gravity of this decision.”