By SEMA News Editors
Doug Boles Named President of INDYCAR, IMS
Penske Entertainment, the Indianapolis-based parent company of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), has named Doug Boles as president of both INDYCAR and IMS, succeeding Jay Frye.
Boles has served as president of the speedway since 2013, overseeing the sellout of the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016, the first full-capacity crowd in the event's history. He has also managed more than $150 million in strategic investments at IMS. Including his previous positions as a founding partner and COO of former NTT INDYCAR SERIES team Panther Racing, and as former INDYCAR and IMS owner Hulman & Company's vice president of communications, Boles brings more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in motorsports to the position.
Boles will report to Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles and will manage strategic vision and priorities across both INDYCAR and IMS.
Frye is departing INDYCAR after 10 years in the role, during which he oversaw two entitlement sponsorships, the development of the AK18 aero kit, the implementation of the aeroscreen and the introduction of hybrid technology to the series.
The sanctioning body has also announced several other organizational changes in addition to Boles' appointment as president.
Mark Sibla has been named senior vice president of INDYCAR competition and operations. He has been a senior member of INDYCAR’s management team for more than a decade and will lead general operations and special initiatives such as development of the new car.
Kyle Novak begins an enhanced role as vice president of officiating and race control and will lead both the race control and race tech teams at INDYCAR. He has served as INDYCAR's race director since 2018.
In addition, Alex Damron has been named chief marketing officer, charged with fully implementing a maximized and unified promotional plan for the sport. In this role, he will lead the marketing and communications teams at INDYCAR. He will also continue as vice president of corporate communications for Penske Entertainment, responsible for overseeing IMS PR efforts and Penske Entertainment’s photo and editorial operations.
Lastly, Louis Kissinger has been named general manager, IMS operations, leading teams responsible for suite/hospitality sales, track operations and event operations.
For more information, visit indycar.com.
Image courtesy of Penske Entertainment -- Joe Skibinski
Corvette ZR1 Sets Five U.S. Lap Records
Chevrolet has announced the Corvette ZR1 has secured five new production car lap records during a U.S. track tour with four different General Motors drivers behind the wheel.
Below are the five tracks and the Corvette ZR1's lap times:
- Watkins Glen Int'l (Schuyler County, New York) Long Course: 1:52.7. Driver: Bill Wise, lead performance engineer, Chassis Controls.
- Road America (Sheboygan County, Wisconsin): 2:08.6. Driver: Brian Wallace, lead vehicle dynamics engineer.
- Road Atlanta (Braselton, Georgia): 1:22.8. Driver: Chris Barber, lead development engineer.
- VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) (Alton, Virginia) Full Course: 1:47.7. Driver: Aaron Link, global vehicle performance manager.
- VIR Grand Course: 2:32.3. Driver: Link.
The drivers set out with a pre-production Corvette ZR1 equipped with the optional ZTK Performance Package, which is designed to add an aggressive, high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood Gurney lip – all constructed from woven carbon fiber. Underneath, underbody strakes replace the standard front underwing stall Gurney to increase front downforce substantially, according to Chevrolet. The suspension tuning included in the ZTK package also incorporates stiffer springs and adds Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZP tires.
Corvette ZR1 with the ZTK Package boasts a top speed of 233 mph on the race track, 0-60 mph time of 2.3 seconds*, and a quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds. With these figures, no current production car under $1 million rivals Corvette ZR1, Chevrolet stated.
“Corvette ZR1 continues to showcase how this nameplate elevates at every corner,” Corvette executive chief engineer Tony Roma said. “From design, engineering, development, validation, to driving and setting incredible lap records like these – we do it all in house.”
For more information, read the Chevrolet press release here.
Image courtesy of Chevrolet
