Oilpressure

Well, my self-imposed sabbatical didn’t last very long. Under normal circumstances, this would have been my next day to post anyway. I was certainly not planning on posting today or even for the rest of this week – but Tuesday’s news was too big to sit out. Oh, and another thing – this site goes through WordPress. There have been some strange things going on with WordPress he last few days. There were times when it would not let people comment. I got a few e-mails from readers wondering if I had blocked them. No, I don’t do that to anyone. Bear with it if you wish to comment. If it won’t let you, try again later.

After ten years, Jay Frye is out as President of IndyCar. That news is big enough by itself, but the even bigger news is that Doug Boles will succeed Frye, while maintaining his role as President of IMS.

I will say that Jay Frye was always very good to me personally. Not to name-drop, but one year (probably 2018), Frye made a point to seek me out at Barber. The race before was Long Beach and there was controversy involved with Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay at pit-out. I was fairly critical of the race officiating, and Frye spotted me in pit lane at Barber the next Friday morning. He wasn’t contentious at all, and asked me what led to my conclusion. He presented his side, but made it clear he respected my opinion – even though he didn’t disagree with it. He has always made a point to say hello to us and call us by name every time we see each other.

Prior to the 2018 season, Frye sent me a private message through Twitter asking for my home address. A couple of weeks later, he sent me a gift with a handwritten note – thanking me for all that I do for IndyCar. I think he sent the same thing to other media members, but it was a very meaningful gesture to me.

So, personally – I liked Jay Frye, but I can like someone and not agree with them. There were several things he did that I disagreed with. I was not a fan of the aero-screen that he championed, but I cannot deny how effective it is. There are many who say that Frye was hard-headed and inflexible. Not being privy to such encounters, I can only go by what I’m told by those that are.

I have been told that Frye was holding IndyCar back as far as bringing on a third engine manufacturer and hindering the growth of the series. Again, I am only repeating paddock gossip and have nothing to back that up with.

Frye brought in a VP of Marketing in February of 2019. SJ Luedtke sounded great on paper, but was an absolute disaster in execution. Her people skills were atrocious. She had come from Nike and showed great promise, but her marketing contributions were negligible. She moved Communications under the Marketing Department, and that’s when all of the Media Centers at various tracks went from fun and jovial to very oppressive atmospheres. SJ ran the IndyCar media with an iron fist. During practice sessions, qualifying and races, Luedtke and her “squad of goons” focused most of their attention on checking pit credentials and throwing people out.

At one race, Susan was taking a photo with her camera (not her phone) and SJ spotted her. She forced her to go back to the media center and ask for a photo vest. Before she would be allowed to take any more photos that weekend. SJ had the behavior of a bulldog and seemed to enjoy it. I did my best to avoid her in the pits. God forbid, she should witness me taking a quick photo in the pits with my phone.

Frye and Luedtke also headed up a complete overhaul of the IndyCar Communications Department in the summer of 2019. That is the department that all of us media types deal with from race to race. Many good people who did their jobs very well, were either fired or demoted in that big purge. Two of his cronies were brought in to lead the department. One lasted only about six months, and the other is the one who I, and others, have tangled with. Many of those that were demoted soon found employment elsewhere. The department went from about eight or nine down to three in short order. There are now four. Dave Furst was later brought in as VP of Communications. He was a good hire, but I understand it was Roger Penske who hired him directly. Luedtke was fired in the fall of 2022.

While Jay Frye was always good to us, you can see he made some bad hires and angered a lot of people along the way.

My phone started blowing up yesterday morning at work, with the news that Frye was out. Most were ecstatic that Frye was gone. I asked one person close to the situation what Frye was going to do now. The response was “Hopefully shoveling s**t”. Ouch!

While most were in favor of Frye’s departure, there was a 100% consensus on Doug Boles succeeding Frye. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a time when IndyCar fans were so unified on a particular topic. I’ve not seen or heard one single negative comment on Doug Boles taking on the added responsibility of IndyCar President in addition to his role of IMS President. There have been a lot of positive comments, but the one I keep hearing over and over is: He’s the right many for the job.

I could not agree more.

Doug Boles is one of those unique individuals that is popular with fans, drivers, team owners, the media and apparently Roger Penske. He is a natural born marketer, who also has tremendous organizational skills – a rare combination. He is personable and an outstanding leader. On top of everything else, he is just a real likeable guy.

Racing is in his blood. Like Roger Penske, Doug Boles isn’t a stuffed-shirt racing executive. He has been down in the pits getting his hands dirty as a race strategist and part-owner of Panther Racing. He attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 1977, and watched AJ Foyt win his (then) unprecedented fourth Indianapolis 500. Little did that ten year-old know that one day, he would be president of those hallowed grounds just 36 years later. In twelve more years, he would also be president of the sanctioning racing body.

When dealing with most people, you would question if it was possible to do both jobs effectively. In most cases, I would say no. But Doug Boles has proven how effective and efficient he is. On Race Morning, we are usually in the IMS Media Center by around 5:45 am. Who is one of the first people we see up there? Doug Boles in a suit. This past year, when a rain delay kept us at the Media Center beyond 10:00 pm, who was one of the last people we saw? Doug Boles in a suit. I’m not sure the man even sleeps in the Month of May. Yet he never seems tired or frazzled. He is always upbeat, alert and always working.

Selfishly, I am ecstatic about this turn of events. First of all, I’m happy for him. This is a case where good things actually do happen to good people. But I also see this as a sign that maybe the dark and gloomy days in the IndyCar media centers at other tracks may be over and things might actually lighten up.

Boles enjoys what he does, and I hear his staff really enjoy working for him. He is appreciative of what they do, and he continually lets them know that. The IndyCar media centers used to foster that atmosphere, always letting media members know how much they are appreciated for the work they do. Since the Communications upheaval in 2019, the media centers have gone from warm and fun atmospheres, to a silent and oppressive environment. Something tells me that Doug Boles will soon make changes along those lines to make the media feel appreciated and respected again.

Make no mistake…He is the right man for the job!

George Phillips

This entry was posted on February 12, 2025 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.