Humpy and IndyCar? It Could Happen

The rumor that wouldn't stop after the shuffling of Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George's job duties finally has some teeth.

Humpy Wheeler -- the longtime and now ex-President and General Manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway -- told the Indianapols Star this week that he and his company are in talks with IndyCar officials about promoting the American open-wheel series.

Humpy's name first entered the IndyCar fold after he attended the Indianapolis 500 instead of the 50th-running of the Coca-Cola 600 in May.

Wheeler's newly-formed business -- The Wheeler Company -- is looking to offer "promotional and marketing support" to the somewhat struggling league, said the article:

"Right now it's all in its infancy," he said. "We haven't made any deals yet; we're just in the talking stage."

IMS Corp. officials have not confirmed talks with Wheeler or his son, Trip, who runs the family business.

Wheeler, who in the 1960s worked with Firestone's Indy-car program, said there is a need to "objectively look" at the series.

"What's working, what's not working? What needs to be done, not only from a marketing standpoint, but also what's happening out on the racetrack," he said. "You can have the most beautiful Broadway playhouse, the greatest seats in the world and the greatest actors and actresses, but the content of the play has to be there also for it to work.

"If you've got something that's hot, you're going to get ratings. The question is, how do you make it hot?"

If there's anyone that can make IndyCar racing -- not just Danicamania -- "hot", there's not many other people to look to than Humpy Wheeler.

During his time at LMS, Humpy helped turn the 1.5-mile track into one of NASCAR's cornerstones and also into one of the most fan-friendly tracks in multiple ways -- from extravagant pre-race shows to making sure traffic flow in and out of the facility didn't scare off fans.

Wheeler's connections run deep, far and wide, and his experience for fanning the flames of dramatics in racing have certainly helped the stock car side of motorsports.