IndyCar sets new-car leadership structure
Penske Entertainment has chosen to place two of its non-competition executives in charge of its new-car project.
In what is traditionally the exclusive domain of a racing series president and their technical staff, the series’ executive branch has appointed Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles as one of the two new directors of the future chassis and engine formula. Miles is joined on the steering committee by Rich Shearing, COO of the Penske Automotive Group. Like Miles, the well-respected Shearing has no experience in the technical or engineering side of motor racing.
Former IndyCar president Jay Frye was the third member of the new-car leadership group, but with his recent dismissal, Frye’s duties pass to new IndyCar president Doug Boles who, like Miles and Shearing, brings no race car design or engineering experience to the crafting of a new IndyCar.
“I haven’t done this before, and I’m not leading this,” Miles told RACER. “I’m observing it and trying to ask the right questions and making sure that our key stakeholders are involved.”
With Shearing – an unfamiliar name to fans of the series – described by some of the team owners who’ve interacted with him as the “quarterback” leading Penske’s future IndyCar project, Miles was asked to fill in the gaps around Shearing’s role in shaping and defining the next IndyCar engine and chassis package.
“He’s a valuable contributor to the effort to the team,” Miles said. “He’s an engineer. He is a successful businessperson. He has a great background in systems and process development. And he has made himself available while he does his day job to help us and the IndyCar people work through the process. He’s, I think, added enormous value. It’s sort of emblematic of the Penske Corporation approach, which is you take advantage of assets wherever you find them. And his experience and his brain are certainly great assets for this process. So I’ve been really pleased that he’s been able to find time to help.”
Despite being a newcomer to IndyCar, the aforementioned team owners have spoken of Shearing in high regard.
“He knows a lot about suppliers like Ilmor,” Miles added. “He knows a fair amount about the technology. He knows what he doesn’t know. He’s not a race engineer, but he’s a really good facilitator and in process development. He has that kind of experience. So he doesn’t have a formal role – he doesn’t have a title. I just think he’s been a great asset.
“But there are these Wednesday meetings, all the IndyCar guys are on them. When I say IndyCar guys, I mean (IndyCar’s technical and engineering team), without exception. So I think those are the people that you would identify as who you’d expect to be front and center in developing a new car, and they are.”
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