George oversees IndyCar rebirth

Tony George, CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was accused of damaging the Indy 500 upon his 1996 establishment of the IRL. Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images

As Chief Executive Officer of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony George is charged with promoting the Indianapolis 500. It's a family heirloom, one which the 48-year-old George was accused of damaging when he founded the Indy Racing League. He had his supporters, too, during the period in open-wheel racing known as "The Split," which began in 1996 with cars and drivers from the IRL making up the vast majority of the field at Indianapolis.

CART had most of the big-name drivers and teams in 1996, but they eventually moved over to the IRL's IndyCar Series and the Indy 500. Champ Car replaced the bankrupt CART organization in 2004 and, under the ownership of Gerry Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, continued to struggle. IndyCar was stronger and financially viable, but also had problems with low car counts -- 18 to 20 in recent seasons -- and television ratings far beneath NASCAR's Sprint Cup.

IndyCar seemed to be trending downward last fall when Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr., who had won the past two Indy 500 and season championships, respectively, switched over to the Sprint Cup circuit.

Six months later, IndyCar has enjoyed a resurgence on the eve of the Indy 500, which begins with Rookie Orientation on Sunday and will be run -- weather permitting, of course -- for the 92nd time on May 25.

George long encouraged Champ Car to consolidate into one series, offering free chassis, engines and financial incentives to its teams. He also purchased certain assets and intellectual properties in February, bringing the top tier of open-wheel racing together under his control.

Unification, which has resulted in nine car-driver combinations coming over from Champ Car to race the full IndyCar season (thus boosting its fields to 27), was an historic milestone. But interest in the Indy 500 has been elevated by several other factors.

First, two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves charmed the nation in winning ABC's highly-rated Dancing with the Stars with partner Julianne Hough.

Graham Rahal, the 19-year-old son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby, moved over from Champ Car and won at St. Petersburg in his first race, becoming the youngest IndyCar winner in history.

Danica Patrick provided the final shot of Big Mo by becoming the first woman to win a major auto race in Japan. The 500 had hit the trifecta.

George also will be a team owner at Indianapolis with Vision Racing. Its drivers are Ed Carpenter, George's stepson, and A.J. Foyt IV.

George took the time to speak with SI.com to discuss the prospects for this year's Indy 500.

TT: In what ways do you think a single consolidated series will impact the month of May at Indy?

TG: I think for the future, hopefully look forward to more interest, more energy, more enthusiasm. Not that we haven't had good interest, energy and enthusiasm in the past, but I think the excitement of having a combined series -- which has been commonly thought of as the best of both series coming together -- more and deeper competition should make for a really good month of May this year and in the future. Hopefully, it will improve car count, more sponsors, all those things.

TT: Do you think, for example, we'll see a better attended and more exciting Pole Day knowing that everybody is there that is trying to run open-wheel racing?

TG: I think Pole Day will be very exciting if the weather cooperates. Vying for 11 positions on Pole Day and 22 for the first weekend should all make for interesting stuff. A lot of those things have to come together to create that, but the expectation is that we have to deliver on this opportunity we have. I think it all coming together, albeit late. It's been really good and we'll hope and pray for good weather so we can see what kind of effect unification really does have on the month of May.

TT: You're not 100 percent sure exactly how that might manifest itself?

TG: [Chuckles] Other than what I just said, I'm absolutely not 100 percent sure, I can guarantee you that. Everyone expects me to be positive, enthusiastic like they all are and I am. I'm very excited about the hand we have acquired. There's a lot of general and mainstream interest in what's going on now. I got an email the other day from somebody out in California and they said everything is buzzing out there about it, about Danica's win, about Graham's win, about unification. I think it's all over the country. We certainly expect it's going to be great for the series, but it's certainly great for the month of May.

TT: How to you feel about what it might do for your TV ratings on race day?

TG: A lot of that is too weather-dependent. We'll have to wait and see. We hope it all bodes well for us to continue to grow and drive the interest of fans -- be it ardent or casual or potentially new fans -- whether that's drawing them out to the venues or the racetracks themselves, or tuning into television and radio broadcasts or following us on the Internet. Those are all things we're trying to take advantage of the growth opportunities of unification presents.

TT: What impact will Danica's win plus her SI swimsuit issue have throughout the month?

TG: Again, that, Helio's performance with Dancing with the Stars, the fact he's still going to be in the forefront in May. I believe they'll be concluding another season of that program. He'll be making appearances as reigning champion and doing guest commentary on different programs associated with it and all those things shine a light on us and hopefully a bright light on what we're doing as a series and what's going on at Indianapolis in May. We'll have some of his Dancing with the Stars celebrity friends with us in May.

TT: Julianne Hough is singing the National Anthem?

TG: Julianne will be performing, Floyd Mayweather is going to be waving the flag (as honorary starter). Several of them have committed; they want to come and support Helio. So, that, Danica, swimsuit, race wins, Graham, unification, it's all positive.