Who is Doug Boles, the new IndyCar president?

Doug Boles is one of those characters that is impossible to miss during a race.IndyCar, mainly in Indianapolis. While fans don't often have the opportunity to meet the presidents of the circuits they travel to, particularly due to a lack of access to official structures, Boles himself goes to meet the spectators. This is how during the month of May, the month of the Indy 500, you will regularly see him in the stands, talking with the fans, and collecting their feelings on the quality of their experience on the circuit. All without ever departing from his traditional shirts and ties.

Boles will remain president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in addition to his new venture into IndyCar. A highly political role that should not intimidate the man who worked for six years as director of government and corporate affairs for Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith from 1992 to 1997. But racing was never far from the man who regularly attended the Indianapolis 500 as a child, and when John Barnes approached Boles about partnering with him to launch Panther Racing in the Indy Racing League in 1998, Boles jumped at the chance, also becoming the new team's director of operations. In 2001 and 2002, Panther reached the pinnacle of the championship with back-to-back titles for young Sam Hornish Jr.

His knowledge of politics and the inner workings of a racing team became valuable assets when he was named president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2013. Succeeding Jeff Belskus, who had presided over the circuit during its centennial era from 2009 to 2011, Boles was tasked with organizing the 500th edition of the Indianapolis 2016 in 500. It was a successful organization, as it was the only time an Indy XNUMX was declared a sellout because the track could not safely accommodate more fans.

"What Panther Racing has brought me is the perspective of a team in the championship, and at the circuit", Boles told Zionsville Monthly in 2018. “I see my primary job as president of the track as two-fold: running this team and providing a product to our customers. We can’t do that without our customers. Who are the customers? The customers are the fans, but also the sponsors and partners that are here and the teams that are competing. What Panther Racing has done for me is give me the opportunity to really see what a team goes through and what challenges they face when they’re here.”

In over ten years at the helm of the Indianapolis circuit, Boles has managed to revitalize a circuit that was perhaps resting a little too much on its laurels. Let's bet that he will be able to do the same with IndyCar, while remaining as available with the fans and the media, for whom he always finds a few minutes to promote his flagship product, the Indianapolis 500.

ALSO READ > Things are moving in the IndyCar authorities, a new president appointed