With the 2025 season of the NTT Indycar Series fast approaching, Doug Boles has been named as the new president of the series, alongside his role as President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The announcement comes as part of many senior leadership changes by Penske Entertainment, owners of the series. This poses the question, what will the future of America’s premier single seater racing championship look like?
Boles will succeed Jay Frye as president of the championship, a role that Frye held for over 10 years. Frye was criticised at times, but made some brilliant decisions to turn Indycar into a modern day giant in the motorsport world. Frye’s biggest achievement was introducing the ‘aeroscreen’ safety system on the cars, enhancing the safety of the drivers. Frye also navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, introduced the first hybrid energy system and has made Indycar one of the most accessible forms of motorsport in the world for the regular fan.
Indycar driver Graham Rahal described Frye as “the best man” he’s ever worked with and said he was disappointed to see a man of “high class, integrity & great vision leave.”
Frye however was heavily criticised at times, particularly in the marketing department. Despite having an unbelievable racing product, Indycar at times has struggled to attract viewers as they were simply unaware the races were happening. The Indianapolis 500 is the showpiece of the series, and should be marketed as such, but this isn’t an excuse to neglect the other races in the year.
This is where Boles will come in. Boles has been president of the speedway since 2013 and has a deep rooted history in motorsport. Boles operated a $150m upgrade of the speedway as well as selling out the full capacity of the venue for the first time, for the Indy 500 in 2016.
With Indycar starting a new era on FOX Sports, being broadcast on a network other than NBC for the first time since 2018, it is a perfect time for change at the helm. Indycar will have all 17 races this year broadcast on national television, and has already stepped up its marketing efforts. FOX featured Indycar drivers Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward in three separate commercials that were played at peak times during this year’s Super Bowl.
Mark Miles, CEO of Penske Entertainment said Boles is the “ideal choice to lead both INDYCAR and IMS as we enter a new era of opportunity and visibility.” Miles himself has been under scrutiny in recent years, especially in his failure to expand the series into South America and Mexico, to help fuel the surge in popularity of Mexican driver O’Ward.
When asked about holding a race in Mexico City, Miles said it was too early for the series to do so as O’Ward was not ‘well known’ enough in his home country. O’Ward responded with his own merchandise and billboard campaign ‘Pato Who?,’ that caused another rise in his popularity. Miles learned his lesson, and joined O’Ward for a comedic photograph in front of one of these billboards.
The presidential position is not the only change for the new year. Mark Sibla has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Kyle Novak promoted to Vice President of Officiating and Race Control, Alex Damron has been named Chief Marketing Officer and Louis Kissinger promoted to General Manager of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With a brand new TV deal, new leadership, a fabulous grid of drivers and the same proven car concept, the future of Indycar is certainly bright. Boles is a proven executive, responsible for growing the now biggest single-day sports event in the form of the Indy500. There is a lot of work to be done, but Boles has the experience and knowledge to grow the championship into a global phenomenon.
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