Constantine's Business Sense Fuels Galles-ECR's Drive For Success

By Eric Powell indyracing.com

He's only 33 years old, yet Tommy Constantine already is a success in the business and racing world. But don't think for a minute that the guy got here by luck alone.

"I have a joke with my friends," said Constantine. "They say I'm super lucky, and I say, 'Yeah, the harder I work, the luckier I get.'"

Constantine, an admitted workaholic who lives in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, Ariz., has an impressive business resume with his work in commercial real estate and aviation. But the item that stands out the most these days is his partnership in the Galles ECR Racing team, which fields the Tickets.com Starz Encore Superpak G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone for two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series.

Constantine assists primary owner Rick Galles with the business activity of Galles ECR Racing team, in which he and Roger Elliott are minority owners. Constantine is a racer, too, and plans to run the full U.S. F2000 schedule in 2000 after starting all but one race - the season opener at the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway - in 1999.

His first U.S. F2000 race of the year in the Tickets.com-Mexmil Van Diemen car prepared by the Primus Racing team will come at noon on March 19, immediately before the Indy Racing MCI WorldCom Indy 200 at Phoenix.

"I've dabbled in racing since 1992," said Constantine, who has also competed in Toyota Atlantic and SCCA racing. "But I've never had the opportunity to run a full season. Last year was my first full-blown year."

His best finish in 1999 was sixth at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

Constantine said he wants to have the opportunity to step into an Indy Racing car.

"I certainly don't know if I'll ever drive next to Al, but that's my goal," said Constantine. "And this year's F2000 season is going to tell me if I can go out and be as competitive as I have in the past. If so, then I'll feel all right about moving up, but if not, I have no interest in driving an Indy Racing car just to do it."

Constantine's path from his days growing up in Chicago to his current role is a fascinating entrepreneurial story. After high school he took a semester of college courses but decided it wasn't for him, so he went to work at the Chicago Board of Trade.

"I made enough money at the Board of Trade that I was able to go into the automotive business for myself," he said. "I met a lot of Chicago Bears and Bulls, and they helped me get in touch with a lot of those hard-to-contact sponsor people. From the automotive business, I got into racing."

Constantine was driving back from a race in California when he stopped in the Phoenix area, and he fell in love with the weather and the surroundings.

He moved to The Valley of the Sun 4½ years ago and is building a house. Already in place on his property is a half-mile road course for karts, with an eighth-mile banked oval built into it. The course is a hot spot for local drivers.

"It's a big topic of discussion in the motorsports arena," Constantine said. "I think just about every racer in Arizona has been there. A lot of the CART guys that live (in Phoenix) practice there. Arie (Luyendyk) is a regular. We do a lot of practicing, and I keep in shape and keep my driving skills up to par by using the shifter karts when I'm not out of town.

"We use some other souped-up karts for our sponsor days, as well. Occasionally we fly out the management guys of our sponsors and let them mess around for the day."

When not working with Galles ECR Racing, Constantine also tends to his other business interests. He is a distributor for helicopters, catering to top-level corporate executives and wealthy individuals. Constantine is a relatively new helicopter pilot and owns a chopper. He said his knack for seeing opportunities and earning clients' trust has driven his success.

While Constantine is sort of the new kid on the block in Indy-style racing, Galles and Unser have a long racing history together, which began in 1983 and culminated in the CART series championship in 1990 and an Indianapolis 500 victory in 1992. Unser drove for CART team owner Roger Penske from 1994-99, capturing his second series championship and second Indianapolis 500 in 1994.

Galles ECR Racing is functioning very well because everybody knows their role and supports the others involved, Constantine said.

"Rick has been great, and he's taught me a ton about the racing side already," he said. "And he's been great in sharing credit as well; here's a guy who has been around for 20 years who everybody knows and respects. Yet whenever he has the chance, he's telling people about me, which is nice. I'm very grateful for that.

"I feel he and I are going to conquer the world together."