CONGRATULATIONS TO MARK D MILES ON YOUR APPOINTMENT AS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF INDYCAR FROM THE HENDRIX BY HENDRIX RACING TEAM, THE FAMILY BLOOD RELATIVES OF JIMI HENDRIX AND THE JIMI HENDRIX FAMILY FOUNDATION.

Exclusive from IndyCar CEO Mark Miles: ‘I’m not going anywhere’

Source: Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Facebook: @jimayello

INDIANAPOLIS — The whispers grow so loud sometimes, they reach all the way up to Mark Miles’ office on the second floor of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway administration building. He hears them. Usually gets a kick out of them, too.

Mark Miles is leaving his post as CEO of Hulman and Co., which owns IndyCar and IMS, to pursue a career in politics.  

Mark Miles has accomplished all he set out to with IndyCar and has his sights set on a new, unknown challenge.

Mark Miles is pondering retirement.  

“I don’t know where people get these things,” Miles told IndyStar with a laugh. “No. I’ll say it again. I’m not going anywhere.”

The latest round of rumors began with the death of the racing matriarch and longtime IMS Chairman of the Board Emeritus, Mari Hulman George.       Some wondered whether her death would lead to IMS being auctioned off to the highest bidder or perhaps a restructuring of Hulman and Co.’s leadership.

“Nothing’s changing,” Miles said matter-of-factly. IMS is not for sale and the leadership structure will remain the same, he confirmed to IndyStar, adding that he has no reason to believe he is in anything but good standing with a board of directors that includes Mari Hulman George’s four children — Tony George (chairman), Nancy George, Josie George and Kathi George Conforti — along with Pacers executive Jim Morris, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, Cardinal Equity Partners co-founder John Ackerman, former Anthem VP and CFO Mike Smith, attorney and longtime family friend Jack Snyder as well as Miles himself. 

As for retirement, though he’s nearing “retirement age” at 64, Miles’ schedule remains as chock-full as ever and he says there is plenty more he’d like to accomplish before he rides off into the sunset.

Though he is proud of what he and his team have done since taking IndyCar’s reins in 2012 — the rejuvenation of the Indianapolis 500, the new TV deal, the new aero kit and the expanded car count among them — there remains a long to-do list.

While he’s amid negotiations on securing a new title sponsor for the series, he’d still like for IndyCar to add a third engine manufacturer, to expand its audience and to make the sport more profitable for its shareholders.

That said, there is no date nor specific goal that once accomplished will have him ready to walk away. Miles says he still loves the job. Still loves staring down IndyCar’s new and old challenges and orchestrating ways to overcome them. He still loves what the sport means to Indiana and Hoosiers. And he doesn’t plan on giving up any of that anytime soon. 

International racing

Could Indy cars be racing in Australia in 2020? Miles wouldn’t rule it out but said there’s still a long way to go before anything is finalized. Still, Miles couldn’t help but be optimistic about the future of IndyCar in Australia. 

Miles was invited to the country shortly after reigning 500 winner, Will Power, paid a visit to his homeland. Power met with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who asked him what it would take to bring IndyCar back to the country. Power told her to contact Miles, and shortly thereafter, Miles — along with Stephen Starks, IndyCar’s VP of promoter and media partner relations — were in Australia. 

They spent a couple of days there discussing both international media rights and the prospect of bringing an Indy car race to the Gold Coast for the first time since 2008. Miles left his meetings feeling there was genuine enthusiasm on both sides to work something out. His optimism proved warranted when, not long after arriving back in the United States, he was contacted by a high-ranking official in the Australian government who’d been assigned to dive into the logistics of what making an IndyCar return possible would entail. They’ve exchanged numerous emails since. 

Miles reiterated that the soonest a race would be possible is 2020 but that if that proved to be too soon to work out all the details, 2021 is a possibility. 

The Gold Coast 300 at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit was once of the most popular races on the CART/Champ Car calendar (1991-2008). While the last points race there was in 2007, the newly reunited IndyCar Series conducted an exhibition race in 2008.