Trump--Reinforcing my concerns that IRL still doesn't "get it".

I know that at this point Trump has backed out as the Grand Marshal/pace car driver. But somebody please point me to any confidence-instilling explanation as to why, for the 100th Anniversary of the inaugural Indy 500, the braintrust of the IRL thought Donald Trump made perfect sense as the center of attention for this year's activities! All this says to me is they're still clinging to the misguided belief that they can market their way back into the consciousness of America. Nobody likes Donald Trump, not even his wives. Is this the first "big thing" from the new rodeo PR guy?

 

I think this is the first big gaffe from "the rodeo guy"; well, maybe that and the lucky dog rule (which got struck down).

and who knows, this may have been a decision by someone at IMS and not IRL (splitting hairs, perhaps).

at any rate, it was a boneheaded move, and I'm glad they reversed it.

 

AJ would have been my first choice along with Roger Penske and Mario Andretti.

Talk about your living legends of the Brickyard....

I wonder how many kids today know who AJ is. In the 60's and 70's, there was no more famous a race driver in the US.


AJ helped build the Brickyard. Donald Trump most likely would have turned it into luxury condo's.

 

AJ retired almost 20 years ago...so not many people under 30 or 35 would remember him as a driver.

but yes, AJ, Mario, Roger, or a dozen other people would have been a better choice.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg7rzVPEfkk[/ame]

 

There are probably 2 reasons why they picked Donald Trump.

First, IZOD, the major sponsor of the IndyCar series is owned by Phillip Van Heusen. PVH also holds the license to the Donald Trump brand of shirts and ties. It was purely a case of marketing for the company that is dumping money into the series as the title sponsor.

Secondly, Donald Trump currently has a successful reality show on NBC, Celebrity Apprentice. It may be a ridiculous show, but it is successful. The IndyCar series is shown on Versus. Versus is owned by NBC. There's another connection.

When they first considered Donald Trump to be the Pace Car driver, he hadn't gone on his birth certificate witch hunt, dropping f-bombs at conferences, or just make a complete fool of himself. Once it became clear that the fans weren't happy and he would be a distraction, they gave him an opportunity to bow out.

It was not the decision of the "rodeo guy" to have Donald Trump in the first place. The rodeo guy is in charge of the IndyCar series. The decision to ask Donald Trump was made by the powers that be of IMS. Two separate entities.

Replacing Trump with A.J. was a great decision. It is the 100th Anniversary of IMS and the 50th Anniversary of A.J. winning at Indy in 1961. Personally, I can't imagine that anyone that doesn't have a slight interest in IndyCar or the Indianapolis 500 not knowing who A.J. Foyt is, and it is only appropriate that they honor him and his contributions during this celebration.

This is all IMO, of course...

 

Trump is as big a tard as the rest of the brain-trust at the IMS.

Totally fitting they picked him as they are as out of touch as he is.

How do you think his "fox pelt" would have done with a helmet in a convertible?


Glad they picked AJ. That dude was a serious bad ass back in the day before he became a fat shill for the IRL.

 

I would love it if AJ met "The Donald" and told him "You're fired!".


I didn't know the Izod and NBC connection. Trump was still a weak choice for number 100. There's plenty of time to sell stuff in the next 99 years.

 

Amusing article in Autoweek recently on the dubious (at best) choice of Trump: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110411/FREE/110419977

 

Or stick a boot up his ass.

 

I have no problem with him, but I recognize him for what he is, and he is what he is.

Ask anybody on the street today who won the Indy 500 last year and you will get:
1) Dale Earnhart
2) Richard Petty
3) Mario Andretti
4) AJ Foyt
5) I don't know.

Americans love affair with Indy racing really did die (somewhat) in the mid 70's, and nobody can really point a finger as to why or what caused it.
Back then people knew the names Unser, Rutherford, Foyt, Johncock, MAYBE Mears, but then you get into the 80's and names like Sneva, Rahal, Guerrero, Sullivan just don't 'stick'.
And you can forget about anybody remembering any names from the 90's or 00's.

The things *I* will point to is the proliferation of ALL sports that appeared on CATV, and the push to get kids into other sports and foster parent involvement, racing was ignored because it was not viable for most kids in america, but playing soccer, baseball and hockey at age four+ exploded.

 

Actually, I bet the average person under 30 today would say "Danica Patrick" won last year's Indy 500.

That's how sad Indy racing has become since Tony George and IRL fiasco. That's what killed it.

Unfortunately, AJ was part of that fiasco too. But, you can't take away what he did for motor racing in the 60's and 70's. He was a legend at a time where racing was the most dangerous sport in the world.

 

While loyal to the Hulmans and the Track ,you might recall AJ was barred from serving on CART's board, and sued.

He also lost Texaco to the Andrettis at that point.

I think he won his lawsuit against CART, actually.

I still don't bring up Texaco around him.......
That's why I brought on Royal Purple.

 

Great stuff! Thanks for the link.

"In the official announcement of Trump's selection, the Speedway called him a “global icon” who has “set new standards of excellence.” Really? Really? The Speedway said Trump is “the very definition of the American success story,” which apparently involves going to work for your already-rich father's company, getting richer, then declaring business bankruptcy not once, not twice, but three times."

 

Hey, he did all that and his poop still doesn't stink! Now that dead animal on top of his head, that's a different story....

 

You're welcome. As for the bankruptcies, apparently three times really IS the charm! What a joke . . .

 

If you're going to have a rodeo guy as your leader, and you're going to bring back Tony George, then you might as well have Donald Trump drive your pace car.

 

I don't think Foyt is the best one they could have picked. The man has serious health problems and has been out of the public eye because of his problems. He is about the size of the Goodyear blimp and my guess it is caused by his meds. People that don't know this will take cheap shots of him when they see him on camera.

Mario would have been better or Rick Mears. Both are still involved in racing and can speak well for interviews.

 

I think that's why they chose AJ....his clock is ticking

 

Oh man somebody needs to photoshop that together and sell t-shirts!

 

Rick would need to get from pit road to the top of Turn 3 for his duties as spotter.

AJ just needs to get back to his pit. Heck, he could probably just pull into his pit, hop out and have a valet return the car to where it needs to be.