Sorry that this isn't on topic, but I felt it was
important to many american race fans, and this is
the only forum I know. Feel free to pass it on.
Please don't reply on list (but I'd be glad to
talk to you privately about it).
A strange thing happened at the Indy 500 today.
A group of us are standing around the Penske
hospitality after the race hoping to get an
autograph from Gil, and who should drive up but
Tony George (in the corvette pace car, I can't
fault his taste in pace cars).
Well, someone I know quite well (not me, but who
shall remain nameless to protect the guilty), and
who had perhaps too much to drink, starts verbally
harrasing Mr. George, calling him names and making
comments that were obvously not true, considering
the good looking female companion in the passenger
seat of the Vette. Mr. George looks at this
person (that I am failing at shutting up) and says
"Wait right there, I'll deal with you in a
moment". Then he goes into the tent and does what
he needs to do inside.
5 minutes later, he comes out of the tent, walks
up to this person who had verbally assulted him,
and who is wearing a (custom made) t-shirt with a
Paul Tracy picture and the Indy trophy, and he
takes him aside and talks to him, calmly, for 10
minutes.
Now think about this. This has to have been the
busiest day of the year for Mr. George. His
racing league (IRL) is putting on his race (Indy
500), the biggest race for the series of the
year. And yet, at 6pm, when his day was over,
with his wife (?) waiting in the car, he takes 10
minutes out of his day to talk, one on one, with
some crazy fan that had been verbally abusing him.
Read in that what you will, and while I certainly
don't agree with very many decisions Mr. George
has made (or the reasons for them), I have to give
him credit for enough personal integrity to take
that much time just for one race fan.
And, no, that race fan is still convinced that
Paul Tracy won that race, but was floored that
Tony George would take that much time to talk to
him, especially in the face of what he said.
Once again, please do not reply on list. But if
you reply to me (guy-schalnat@cinci.rr.com), I'll
certainly be glad to discuss things further with
you.
Despite that, next year, I think I'm going to be
racing in the CENDIV event. Not because of
anything Tony George did or didn't do, just
because it is time (required autocross content).
-Guy
/// unsubscribe/change address requests to majordomo@autox.team.net or try
/// http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo
/// Partial archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|