Roger Penske wasted little time Sunday evening denouncing the removal of Randy Bernard as IndyCar’s CEO. Bernard was asked to resign by IndyCar’s parent company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. He was replaced on an interim basis by IMS CEO Jeff Belskus. “It’s a big disappointment,” Penske said. “Randy had done a lot, bringing two (new) engines, three engines (in all) to the series. He brought new cars, new events.”Penske took issue with the board’s second CEO change since June 2009 when Tony Georgewas removed. “The board continues to show poor judgment,” he said. “I cannot believe we continue to turn ourselves upside down.”Belskus offered no explanation for Bernard’s fate, and he stressed that he’s only an interim replacement while someone else is sought. Bernard was completing the third year of a five-year contract he signed in February 2010. But controversy had dogged him since June when he said IndyCar team owners were trying to get him fired. Speculation grew last week that Bernard was on his way out, leading to an emergency board meeting for Sunday evening. Bernard was told of what was about to happen. He had at least one supporter among the 11 board members — Josie Georgehad attracted him to the job from his position as CEO of Professional Bull Riders Inc.Bernard could not be reached for comment Sunday, but IMS issued a statement from him. “The last three years have produced some exciting, and some difficult, times,” he said. “But we have created a foundation for IndyCar that positions it to grow over the next several years.”

Bernard will stay with the company in an advisory role at least for the time being. Belskus termed the parting “amicable.” Bernard’s replacement is not expected to be Tony George, who hasn’t been a member of the IMS board since his ousting in 2009. He subsequently resigned from his IndyCar CEO role at the disappointment of his mother, IMS board chair Mari Hulman George. George resigned from the family owned company’s ultimate board, Hulman & Co., on Oct. 19 due to his pursuit of IndyCar. Belskus reiterated Sunday that IndyCar is not for sale, and the situations of George and Bernard appear unrelated.

Zak Brown, founder of Just Marketing International, a leading sponsorship-signing company based in Zionsville, isn’t sure where IndyCar goes from here. “In reading IndyCar’s statement it doesn’t appear they have a long-term plan in place,” he said in a text to The Star. “That’s not good. They need one quickly, and they need to communicate it and it needs to be good.”

Bernard was wildly popular with IndyCar’s fan base, starting with the distribution of his e-mail address to all who sought it. He helped bring a new equipment package and new venues to the series, but he was criticized for his handling of the Dan Wheldon tragedy and for a financial deficit increased by the lucrative China race not being held in August. IndyCar got nothing from an estimated $8.75 million agreement with the Chinese, and the signing of several race events to lower sanctioning fees also hurt the bottom line. Television ratings also reached a record low this season, although Bernard inherited the split contract — five races on ABC, the rest on NBC Sports Channel — from the George administration. Bernard often found himself at odds with IndyCar’s team owners, and that was never more evident than in June when he posted on Twitter that some were out to get him fired. None of them admitted to it.

Bernard wanted — and unveiled to incredible fanfare in July 2010 — bodywork kits that would differentiate the cars. Most of IndyCar loved the idea, but the team owners strongly opposed it due on the basis of cost. They won. The fight over cars and car parts was spread over Bernard’s time as CEO. The committee he hand-picked to select a car design for the future declined to accept the radical DeltaWing proposal offered by team owner Chip Ganassi, and in its place came a deal with Dallara to be the exclusive provider of cars and parts. The latter became the controversial part of this season with team owners insisting Dallara was charging too much for the parts. Eventually, Bernard negotiated a deal with Dallara, which previously agreed to establish IndyCar headquarters in Speedway, to reduce the costs. That deal continues through next season.

Bernard expanded IndyCar’s schedule to 19 races next season, but even the part about dual races on the same weekend in Detroit, Toronto and Houston came under fire from the team owners who believe they’ll be exposed to higher costs at the doubleheaders with little increase in weekend prize money.

One of the most controversial issues has yet to be resolved. Bernard was pursuing a tire supplier contract with a manufacturer other than Firestone, and that had nearly everyone in the paddock concerned given Firestone’s nearly impeccable safety record. Firestone also has arguably been IndyCar’s best partners since George started the Indy Racing League in 1996, and many in the paddock took their concern to Belskus and the board. Firestone’s contract expires at the end of the 2014 season.

Bernard earned praise for bringing Chevrolet and Lotus to IndyCar, although it can be argued that Chevrolet’s return was as much about returning to IMS for the first time since 2005. As for Lotus, that was a disaster almost from the moment the manufacturer was announced as a supplier of engines. The first Lotus powerplant wasn’t tested until January, putting it at a several-month disadvantage to Chevrolet and Honda for the recently completed season. Three Lotus teams negotiated contract exits before the 500, leaving only the smallest team in the series — HVM Racing — to utilize the underpowered engines that had inferior corporate support. IndyCar is believed to have negotiated an exit settlement with Lotus, although that has not been confirmed. HVM’s driver of the past three seasons, Simona De Silvestro, tested a Chevrolet with KV Racing Technology yesterday at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

Bernard faced more fire in July when one of his most significant hires, chief operating officer Marc Koretzky, resigned under pressure. Details of his hastily arranged departure were not given.

Bernard gets credit for getting Pocono (Pa.) Raceway to sign on for the 2013 season — it’s a three-year contract — and for bringing back the Triple Crown of oval races that includes IMS and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. He also put renewed emphasis on the Mazda Road to Indy program led by George’s son, Tony Jr. That resulted in Bryan Clauson becoming the first USAC champion to compete in the 500 since Tony Stewart in 1996.

Terry Gobble
Urbana Il

Belskus met alone with IndyCar staffers Monday morning, and spent much of the rest of the day contacting corporate partners about the change in leadership. Predicting the board’s next move is complicated by the fact open-wheel racing’s history is one of leaders without motor sports backgrounds. IndyCar has had Jerry Hauer, John Newcomb, Bob Reif and Bernard. Champ Car had Bill Stokkan, Andrew Craig, Joe Heitzler and Dick Eidswick.

Bernard’s lack of experience with the sport was often exposed, and there are many in the sport who believe the next IndyCar leader should know how to flow. “We need somebody who knows racing a little bit,” team owner Michael Andretti said Monday. “We’ve tried the experiment of getting somebody who didn’t, and I don’t think that worked well. But it’s a hard person to find.”

These are among the possible candidates:

Mark Miles: President and CEO of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and an IMS and Hulman & Co. board member who chaired Indianapolis host committee for the Indianapolis Super Bowl. His resume includes 15 years as CEO of tennis’ sanctioning body, the ATP. Loaded with credibility.

Scott Atherton: President and CEO of Panoz Motor Sports Group and the American Le Mans Series (for 12 years). Also the former president of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Nazareth Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, the latter two under Roger Penske’s ownership. What’s unclear is his role in sports car racing once it merges after next season.

Zak Brown: Founder and CEO of Zionsville-based Just Marketing International, a leading motor sports sponsorship-signing group. Is emotionally interested in the job. Loves IndyCar. Loves a good challenge.

Doug Boles: Vice president of communications for IMS and Hulman & Co. A lawyer and a former Panther Racing co-owner who has managed drivers. Bernard recently inquired about him moving to IndyCar.

Ken Hudgens: CEO of Feld Motor Sports, which operates the Monster Energy Supercross Series, AMA Arenacross and Monster Jam, among other properties.

It’s also possible, though unlikely, that Belskus maintains the position. Brown said the focus needs to be on more than just the CEO. That person will need help.“You can’t just lay it on the CEO,” he said. “You have to have a team around them, and pretty quickly that person will get the right team. That’s what CEOs do.”

Brown thinks Miles can do the job — and people say he’s interested — if he had someone on his team like Atherton or Boles to navigate the nuances of the sport. “Then you’re replacing Randy with two people and all of a sudden that starts to make more sense.”