Racing into the New Year with Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles

BRUCE:

IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans an insider's view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek and SpeedSport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Happy New Year to everyone from Pit Pass Indy. On this special edition, we close out 2024 and race into 2025 with the man in charge of IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's Penske Entertainment President and CEO, Mark Miles. In many ways, 2024 ended much better than it began for IndyCar. From delaying the start of the Hybrid Assist Unit to Honda considering a potential exit from the series after the 2026 season unless certain issues were addressed, To the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, leaving the streets of Nashville for Nashville Super Speedway, 45 minutes away, it seemed like IndyCar was dealing with one controversy after another. But IndyCar owner Roger Penske, along with senior leadership, including Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles, successfully navigated the obstacles to deliver some important and impactful decisions that will benefit IndyCar in the future, including 2025. Those include a great new television partner with Fox Sports, as all 17 NTT IndyCar Series contests, including the 109th Indianapolis 500, will air live on the over-the-air Fox Network. Fox will also give extensive coverage of both days of Indy 500 qualifications in May, giving the series 19 television dates. For the first time in history, all races in the Indynex by Firestone series will air live on FS1 or FS2. Both are Fox Sports cable channels. The Hybrid Assist unit made its debut in the July 7th Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. It also performed far better than expected on the short oval tracks at Gateway, the Milwaukee Mile, and Nashville Super Speedway. IndyCar reached an agreement with its team owners on a charter system, which creates value for the teams along with additional benefits. If a team owner decides to leave the series, another potential team owner can purchase the charter to be part of IndyCar, which will create a return for the departing team owner's investment in the series. Two more major announcements were made in the offseason. The first was joining forces with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball to create the Grand Prix of Arlington, a temporary street course race that will include the spectacular venues of AT&T Stadium, home of the Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, home of the 2023 World Series champion Rangers, beginning in April 2026. On November 19th, Penske purchased the famed Grand Prix of Long Beach from previous owner Jerry Forsythe, securing IndyCar's future with the biggest street race in North America that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. In December, IndyCar revealed that a long-awaited new car is under development with a planned debut of 2027. A year that started off with some challenges ended strong for IndyCar, and Mark Miles was involved in many of these major decisions. So, on the start of a new year in 2025, here is my exclusive interview with Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles for PitPass Indy. It is always an honor and a privilege to be able to speak with our next guest. He's the president and the CEO of Penske Entertainment, the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and the Indianapolis 500. It's Mark Biles, Mark. As I've said to you on many, many interviews like this, you don't have an off season. You're as busy during the off season as you are during the regular season. I think you told me one time the only difference is instead of attending races, you're attending meetings all over to help further the cause of IndyCar. As we get ready to wind down 2024 and get ready to look ahead to 2025, how would you look back at 2024? A lot of big things really happened.

MARK:

Yeah, it was another great year of racing on the track. A great champion was crowned again, two-time winner of the 500. Our races performed, I mean, our races as events performed well. The promoters did their jobs. But in some ways, when you look back at it, maybe less as a fan and more as somebody looking at the overall uh, health and situation in the sport. The big, the big news was our new Fox deal, which, uh, fans are beginning to see a lot of, even though they haven't broadcast a minute of their first race, which won't happen until St. Petersburg next, next, uh, next beginning of next year. But, but, um, that's huge news and it's been incredibly exciting and gratifying So far this year since the deal was done and announced to see Fox being very aggressive and self starters in in finding creative ways to promote us. So from the way they covered the announcement of another new exciting thing that happened in 24 but won't actually happen until 26, the new race in Arlington and through the partnership with the Cowboys and the Rangers. They covered that on live NFL television and I could go through a long list of things they've done. announced that Michael Sheahan is going to be in the pace car next year on a set they designed specifically in their studios in LA for this announcement. Lots and lots more of that. You probably saw Graham Rahal in their telecast of the Ohio State-Michigan game. Graham enthusiastically waving his Buckeye race helmet. I won't go into a lot more detail, but it's just so gratifying already to see their energy and their creativity and their commitment to doing more maybe than has been done in the last several years.

BRUCE:

And also they had Mark Ingram on big noon kickoff when the game was in Bloomington, Indiana, the Nebraska at Indiana football game. They had him wheel up to the set in an Indy car, which was pretty cool. It really does seem that their promotion of the series is taking a new step I know that was one of the things that you wanted the previous partner at NBC to do, and they did a pretty good bit with some commercials during some of their big NFL playoff telecast early on. It seemed like some of that got away a little bit. Fox's demographic was a little bit different. Do you expect to reach a newer audience than you may have had with the previous partner?

MARK:

Well, the first thing is it's a bigger audience. So instead of having any races exclusively on a streaming platform or a cable platform, all of our races being on free-to-air network is a very meaningful increase in the number of people that will watch our racing. And that's before you get to the fact that on cable, you'll see practice and qualifying. but sports cable that people know to go to, as opposed to entertainment cable, for example, and much more, including coverage of Indynext. So the platform in each of its iterations, all the platforms, are all going to deliver bigger audiences than we have had when we weren't on Peacock. I don't mean Peacock. I mean on NBC, the free-to-air NBC network. So that's the main thing. In terms of the demographics, yeah, I think they may continue to be younger. And that has been happening in the last couple of years already. So it's really a matter of accelerating that.

BRUCE:

you had a documentary series, 100 days to Indy that was on the CW. Has there been any thought to maybe moving that over to Fox?

MARK:

We're thinking about next season and whether 100 Days to Indy continues as it has been, meaning creatively or not, and what the platform would be. But certainly Fox would have an early look at the opportunity if it all rolls out as it has in the past.

BRUCE:

Another interesting part of their agreement is you're going to get two solid days of coverage on the big Fox of Indianapolis 500 qualifications. And how important is that going to be? Because those can be some pretty long days having, when you're out here actually at the track, sometimes it's, you go from the storyline keeps unfolding, but it's a very long day on Saturday. Sunday's a lot quicker to the action, but just how valuable is it to have that much airtime leading into your biggest race of the year?

MARK:

You know, I'm a person who grew up in Indianapolis and I've always thought, what we now call qualifications, time trials back in the day, is incredibly exciting. It is great drama, great action, fast. And as you said, all day long, both days, storylines are developing. So I think it's a property, if you want to think of it that way, that deserves the attention. And I'm really excited about it. I know Fox will not only do more than justice to the sport around our qualifying, but they'll really use it to a great, maybe greater extent, to promote the 500 itself a week later.

BRUCE:

A lot of people, without realizing that NASCAR's TV package is going to be dramatically different, because they have new TV partners, think, well, how's Fox and their NASCAR coverage? It's going to interfere with the IndyCar coverage, when in reality, they have 10 races to start off the year. And a lot of their races out of that 10 are going to be on FS1 instead of Fox. you have the clear path where it's Fox the whole season. That has to really make things a little bit easier from a scheduling standpoint for IndyCar.

MARK:

Yeah. Well, honestly, the last part of your question about how the scheduling has been easier was proven out in making the deal because When we made the deal, we had a schedule, and we knew that every race could be on network. So absolutely true. And I just think it bodes so well for the even faster growth of IndyCar going forward.

BRUCE:

There's still a segment of your audience that refuses to accept that the NFL and college football now are such huge TV properties that once their season start, even the Major League Baseball playoffs aren't as big in the spotlight as they probably should be. But they all want to know, why aren't we racing in October? Why aren't we racing in November? I always explain to them, I go, it's simple. you're not going to get the TV audience that those races would deserve. So once again, how do you emphasize that point to a lot of people who seem to think that IndyCar should be running here and there well into the football season when the eyeballs are going to be watching a football game?

MARK:

Well, you know, we are, aware that a number of fans would take the approach that anytime IndyCar can get on a track and race, we should. And I appreciate that because that I think demonstrates their love of IndyCars. But from the point of view of growing the sport, it's just, it's just not on to continue after college football and then the NFL start. It is certainly about television audiences, which are very, very hard to get. One can look at other sports and their programming of their regular season before football starts and then what their average viewership looks like in the most compelling part of their seasons, right? Playoffs or final. They can't sustain the same numbers they can in the summer. And we've got to grow our sport. And part of that is growing our television audience. So it's just the realities of a modern league in the United States in this time frame.

BRUCE:

And some people go, well, Formula One races all the way to the first week of December. That's a little bit different. They're an international series that's televised all over the world with different countries that don't have a conflict with the National Football League.

MARK:

Right. That's true. And it's also true that for the most part, they're racing in the U.S. morning. And there aren't a lot of college or NFL games that early in the weekend mornings.

BRUCE:

So what's the process been like since the announcement that IndyCar and Penske Entertainment and the Penske Corporation are doing with Fox to help coordinate plans for next year, maybe some of the talent, giving them advice, and just working together as partners?

MARK:

We're working together on kind of all fronts. We are Close to their thinking about Signing the talent that will be on the air next year throughout the year and for the 500 We are very integrated with them in in sales and in their sales, which is terrific. It's a good value for our sponsors to have the ability to work with us to work with Fox and to design programs, not just by 30-second spots, that'll be good for their marketing objectives and their involvement with IndyCar. The promotional efforts, a little of which we've referred to already in this discussion, continue to go forward. We have two 30-second spots per race on Fox that IndyCar can take advantage of, and so the thinking about the creative for that is in high gear. They are thinking about how they're going to help us have key drivers become bigger stars through them doing creative things and exposing drivers in certain ways. That thinking is well along the way. It just goes on and on. So I'm not going to preempt some of the big ideas that I earn media type, promoter types call them stunts, but you'll see some really wild stuff that we're really excited about.

BRUCE:

And a lot of fans think that when there's a change in networks, it's just as simple as, you know, hey, let's just hire the people that did it for the preview. It doesn't work that way in TV. They have their own people that they want to maybe showcase, maybe bring in some new people that we haven't seen on race telecasts. Can we expect to see some new people that we haven't really seen in key roles on some of the IndyCar telecast?

MARK:

I think for the 500 where, whether it was NBC or going forward, it's Fox, there are just more people in the show. For sure, you can expect to see people that are Fox celebrities that we wouldn't have had a relationship with before. Throughout the rest of the year, I think it still remains to be seen. I think they want us to have our brand, our DNA, and not somebody else's. And they're being very thoughtful about how to assemble a team. It's not just pick, say, three individuals and hope they gel. And I think they're really good at that. So we're happy to be part of the discussion with them and close to them as they think it through. And I think they'll be making decisions in due course.

BRUCE:

Fox is the home of the Super Bowl, and not only is the Super Bowl the most watched TV event of the year, but also there's four or five hour long pregame shows that go into that. Plenty of opportunity for maybe a little bit of fun promotion there. Can we expect to see that on Super Bowl Sunday?

MARK:

Well, again, I mentioned that I think there are going to be some really great stuff coming, and it's not my purpose today to preempt any of that. But your prescient thoughts about the opportunity presented by Fox's coverage of the Super Bowl, and particularly the hours they have on Super Bowl Sunday before it's game time. are interesting. And look, it's an NFL broadcast and IndyCar's not going to take over an NFL Super Bowl broadcast. But I think it's likely that we'll find with Fox ways to penetrate that a little bit.

BRUCE:

And I'll also bring up a prospect that people may not have ever really thought was possible, but Fox is the home of the Daytona 500. We could potentially see a promotional plug for the IndyCar series on Fox during the telecast of the Daytona 500. Is that a possibility?

MARK:

Yeah, or maybe there'll be ways to promote both on the Fox banner. So yeah, I think there'll be some surprises for people, but I just am so excited that this is a the leadership of Fox is committed, they're creative, and they're going to make the most of their platforms, whether it's sports or even other programming.

BRUCE:

Anytime you have a new television partner, the first part of the contract is very important because you want to have the renewal go smoothly down the road. So just how important is this initial part of the Fox contract? Because if you go back and look, the NBC years were great, but if you look at it, they were, I believe five years was the duration from 2019 to, because the last Indy 500 on ABC was on 2018. I think.

MARK:

I think NBC had, we had exclusive arrangements with NBC for two, three year terms. And then they were the cable broadcaster prior to that.

BRUCE:

Yes, but what I'm saying is like with the Fox part, we have the initial term. Of course, anytime you sign up with a new partner, you're thinking it'd be great if this is a, you know, everybody knows that the NFL is on CBS or the NFL is on Fox. They know where to go that 10 years from now, people know where to go to watch the IndyCar telecast. So what I was getting at is, is there a little bit of pressure to have this just be a blockbuster?

MARK:

I think it's just everybody's objective. I don't think it's pressure for Fox or for us. We signed up together because we know we can grow the sport and they love the sport. They love motor sport. And, um, I mean, just think about maybe we'll have fans that wouldn't like the, the, the idea of cross promoting between the Daytona 500 and, and the Indianapolis 500. But there might be a way to do things like that that are creative and potent.

BRUCE:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Here's the rest of my exclusive interview with Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles for Pit Pass Indy. Looking ahead to another big announcement that was made in 2024, the Grand Prix of Arlington, and in the weeks preceding that, I know there was a lot of talk, including some in the media, that kept wanting to say, why aren't we going to Mexico City? Why Mexico this, Mexico that? The company got a little bit of criticism for not thinking big. But I remember Roger Penske kind of telling people, we've got some big things coming. You're going to learn about them. We learned about them the day you were in Texas and announced the Grand Prix of Arlington, because just from a promotional and marketing standpoint, you get the ticket database of the Dallas Cowboys, start marketing that race, right? There is a great way to sell tickets. When you have Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers who won the World Series back in 2023, and also just the excitement of racing around those two stadiums, That has to be one of the biggest new races that you've been able to come up with during your time here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar.

MARK:

For sure. The partners are exactly what you'd want in the way of partners that have enormous assets You mentioned the database of their tickets, but they do other events too at those facilities, so this is not a foreign concept that they might be involved with something other than a football game or a baseball game. And they're stoked about it. They're very excited about it, and they're very engaged. Now, I don't know if it's every game, but I know that In games since the announcement, if you're there watching the Cowboys at home on the big screen, you see promo video for the Arlington Grand Prix. So, just a little example. It's a long way away before that actually happens, but they're in it. And their staffs are in it. and their thinking and their reach is really potent. So, yeah, really important and we're trying to make the most of that. I think you've seen some mocked up video of what the track's going to look like. I think it'll be sensational. I think it'll be great racing and, you know, we'll be chomping at the bit for the spring of 26.

BRUCE:

The day of the announcement, I believe some people were even saying that this could be an event that could rival the Long Beach Grand Prix, now the Long Beach Grand Prix is an historic race. It's got a lot of history and tradition. But do you think that this has that possibility to become one of the premier events on the schedule?

MARK:

That's our objective. I really do think it can quickly assume a prominence that's important. We can't make all events the same at the same time in terms of their potency and their status. But if you think about the, we call them tent posts, the tent post events with, I think St. Pete is the kickoff of the year, has established itself. If the next race, it looks as though the next race will be in Arlington. We're working hard on another opportunity that would be new. Presumably shortly after Arlington before going to Long Beach before barber before May and I think it's gonna be a very powerful start to our year so It's not about whether Long Beach or or Arlington is bigger they're both gonna be great and they're gonna complement each other and and help lift IndyCar

BRUCE:

When you look back at IndyCar's history at Texas Motor Speedway, it started off great, and it sustained for a good while. They used to draw pretty big crowds all the way into the 20-teens, but it got to the point where it really dropped off. Why did things not work at Texas Motor Speedway?

MARK:

You know, we had great racing there, and our long Serving fans Loved what they saw on track there. I thought the racing was great Especially in the last couple races that we ran there. There was great great stuff I'm not sure why we felt like It had sort of reached a plateau but Really, the opportunity for these arrangements in Arlington just kind of made it a moot question. It's such a big development to have a partnership with the Cowboys and the Rangers and to be more in the middle of the urban centers of Dallas is just so exciting. We didn't think much about resisting.

BRUCE:

Which leads back to the vocal group of people who believe IndyCar should be in Mexico City and for some reason looked at it as a race between NASCAR and Mexico City getting their first. Of course, NASCAR was able to schedule a race in Mexico City, but did you think that criticism was unfair?

MARK:

I don't even think about it that way. To me, we're working on having a race in Mexico City. I think it's a great market. I think it'll be a stupendous IndyCar market if and when we can get a race there. And it's not a race with NASCAR. Saying that I understand Sooners better if we think we're gonna be able to do something well To get it started. So we're working hard on that and I Think if and when we do get to the place where we can announce and then have an event in Mexico City It'll blow people away Pato's popularity is is crazy and growing and he's doing some smart things to help that be the case and we're I think we're in a position to have some great partnerships down there as well if we do move forward to have a race there. So the pieces are, I think, moving together. And I think in the end of the day, again, we have the opportunity to have another one of these really important pillars for the IndyCar Championship.

BRUCE:

Is the most difficult thing when you're trying to schedule a race like that or create a race like that is finding the right promotional partner.

MARK:

Sometimes, in this case, we feel like we've had that that issue in a pretty good place for a while now. So then you get into dates and the availability of the venue and a lot of other more logistical issues. But no, I think we're going to have, if we get it done, we're going to have great partners and it's going to be very, again, potent.

BRUCE:

And then yet another big announcement in 2024 when Roger Penske, Penske Entertainment, bought the Grand Prix of Long Beach. That was really a huge investment into the series. Guarantees that any car is going to be at the Long Beach Grand Prix is the main shows that has been going all the way back to the cart years of 1984. Prior to that, it was a Formula One race. But just how important was that acquisition?

MARK:

I think it speaks volumes about Roger investing in IndyCar. He's doing that in a lot of different ways. This one was pretty conspicuous and really very important because that is an iconic race. It's a, I think, essential part of the IndyCar championship and a great market. With so much history can't wait to see Jim celebrate the 50th anniversary next April and so Leaving no doubt that that was going to be part of the IndyCar championship for a long a long time to come and that we were prepared to invest in its future growth Was important the other important aspect of that is they have a staff that's been doing this for 50 years so

BRUCE:

It's just basically a change in ownership. A lot of times when Penske Entertainment takes over a race, they also have to invest other resources, some of their own people from IndyCar, to help make the event go. But this is one where he's already got a staff in place.

MARK:

Yeah, that makes it very seamless. And we have all the confidence in the world. And Jim and his team, they do a great job. But it is kind of an organizational approach, if not a skill that we're working on for other events where, you know, can we be efficient and provide just to make the sort of A mundane point, should legal services and financial services and some of the shared services to run a company be provided from the center here in Indianapolis for a number of races, making everybody more efficient? Can we do a better job of cross-promoting from event to event to help them gain more audience and the championship grow? There's lots of opportunities as we think about how we can add value to increasing number of events.

BRUCE:

Can we expect the 2025 season to get off to a better start necessarily than IndyCar had in 2024 because there was a period leading into the start of the season where One challenge after another presented itself, having to move the Nashville race off the streets of Nashville, the Nashville Super Speedway. It's going to be several years if the race ever does get to return back to the streets of Nashville. But it seems like 2024 is ending better than it started.

MARK:

I don't spend a lot of time charting our biorhythms. When I got off the plane in March of 20, I didn't expect the world to stop. You can't predict what happens. You can't predict things that... you know, they can have big impacts. Um, you just do your best to, to, uh, nurture the sport and to, and to staff it with great people that can execute through anything. And I think we have that kind of team and I think whatever, whatever comes up, we'll, we'll try to turn any headwinds into tailwinds.

BRUCE:

Well, the other thing that happened at the start of 2024 was the delay of the hybrid assist wasn't going to happen until the middle of the year. It started July 7th at mid Ohio. How important is it to start the season? We're going to know what the package is. The hybrid assist is going to be there every race of the year. And it's also proven itself toward the end of the year. A lot of people. I spoke with some people in IndyCar yesterday, and as far as the style of racing we saw in Iowa, that was more attributable to the track surface than the hybrid, because once we got to other short ovals on the schedule, Gateway, Milwaukee, Nashville, the racing was spectacular.

MARK:

No, I agree with that. Again, you know, I think Roger Penske and I, We're never looking in the rearview mirror. So you're right, it's better that we've got a car that is proven out through the last half of last year, if I can think of post-mid Ohio as the last half of the year. And we shouldn't have to worry about that, but you never know. So we just keep improving and growing.

BRUCE:

Speaking of Iowa, Very loyal partner of IndyCar, Hy-Vee. Very loyal partner of Iowa Speedway. Randy Edeker was a tremendous supporter and friend of IndyCar. He's retired as the chairman of the board at Hy-Vee, and it appears that Hy-Vee is scaling back on its involvement. They'll still be involved at Iowa, but a lot of the other races and also team sponsorships they've decided to move away from. How much of a disappointment is that?

MARK:

I think they're a great partner, and Iowa's their home, so it shouldn't surprise anybody that having learned about being involved with a team, different tracks, the home track in Iowa, they'll adapt their strategy as they go. We're delighted they're in the sport and looking forward to another great Iowa race.

BRUCE:

As we look even further into the future, there is a new car on the drawing board. You've presented it to the owners. What are your thoughts on that? Some people want to see an even bigger leap in technology in the way the car looks. I also understand that you don't want to obsolete a bunch of parts. You'd like to be able to use some of the parts on the newer car. So how much back and forth has been going on on that? And how long do you think it'll be till the decision is made on the new car?

MARK:

I don't see this as controversial. I mean, for some people it might be. I recognize that. But that's not the way we think about it. We have goals for the chassis that are a whole lot more than the style, but includes the styling of the chassis. We have clarity on a the inclusion in the powertrain of a of a high voltage hybrid, which is going to be terrific. And the suppliers for which are assembling and doing detailed work in concert with the chassis people and the other engineers. And I think it's going to be terrific. I can't wait to see it on the track and presumably in 27. And it'll be a next important step for the series.

BRUCE:

But no matter what the car looks like, or however you do it, or however great a race car it is, or the enhancements that are done, you know there's going to be a certain segment of people that are going to go, I don't like it. You've been involved in sports a long time. Have you ever seen the dynamic that we have with race fans that we see with IndyCar fans in terms of whether they like something or don't like it? Sure.

MARK:

It's the nature of sports and life and fashion. I mean, The color you like is not going to be the color that I like. And the angles and the styling is not going to be, not everybody wants the same things, but we're going to have a beautiful car, a sleek car, a fast car, improved racing, technology that's relevant to OEMs, hopefully more OEMs involved in part as a result of the development of a new car. And it's, it's, it's, it's really exciting to see what's in front of us.

BRUCE:

There was also some people in the paddock, one constituent who may not be in the paddock anymore, but also other people that seem to be an expert on how Roger Penske should spend his money. And how unfair do you think it was for a man who basically saved IndyCar in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the COVID years to get that type of criticism?

MARK:

Well again, I know he doesn't look in the rear view mirror and I'm not interested in looking in the rear view mirror. Roger Penske is one of the most astute business people on the planet. He is one of the most experienced racers and leaders in the racing business in every way that he's participated. I think we're damn lucky to have him as the owner of the series and the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the steward of the Indianapolis 500 mile race. My strong sense is that anybody who pays any attention to that comes to pretty much the same conclusion. And, uh, we're not, we're, you know, people can take shots whenever they want. It's a free country. They can say what they want. What we got to do is keep growing and that's happening.

BRUCE:

Also, there's going to be a little bit different dynamic in the ownership group. Dan Taurus is now a team owner, full-fledged team owner. He was a partner with Michael Andretti and Andretti global. But as of September 27th, he's now the sole owner of the team. So what can we expect to see out of when he may add to the IndyCar lineup? Well, Dan,

MARK:

We've worked closely with from their early days of sponsoring an LPGA Tour golf tournament here at the Brickyard. And then with Zach Veach getting involved with a car and then the team. And he's somebody that we know very well and have enormous respect for. He is very bright. He's also an incredibly capable business mind. He's committed to racing, which we were thrilled with. And he does everything in a first-class way. So he's out to help build and to be a creative to the whole in his activities. And he is the very, very top level of the kind of person you want investing in your sport.

BRUCE:

Another team owner who is invested in the sport can now celebrate a Formula One Constructors Championship at McLaren, Zach Brown. So to be able to have that type of synergy involved in IndyCar, that has to also kind of boost the prestige of the series. Absolutely.

MARK:

You know, look, whether it's our promoters or our team owners, the more people who you could just as easily see as an NFL team owner or an NBA team owner that are at the top levels of sport in this country and in business in this country. The more of them who are investing in IndyCar, the better. And I see more of that coming.

BRUCE:

Another huge topic from a business standpoint in 2024 was the charter system. It was announced in the offseason. It was pretty much finalized during the season. But we're going to enter 2025, know who the charters are, how all that works. So why was that so valuable to IndyCar and to the teams to have a charter system?

MARK:

I think we all looked at it as sort of clarity around the alignment. and the series commitment to those foundational teams and theirs to the series. So it's a foundation for our future growth. And it's good to get it behind us. It is certainly going to create some value if and when any of those original charter recipients choose to exit. And it's all good.

BRUCE:

Another new team that the series is going to be prima and they're very active internationally And it seems like they're another team that has a clear goal and vision of what they want to do So how exciting is that going to be to have them on the grid?

MARK:

We welcome them. We're delighted. They're there. They see their bridge from success in Europe to North America being IndyCar. So they're also class operators. They think about quality and longer term. And I think they'll be a great addition to our racing. I know they'd like to have a charter, which would facilitate and improve their long-term prospects. We'll see over time that that may very well be a possibility.

BRUCE:

So as 2024 comes to a close, what are you most proud of?

MARK:

I guess I think the thing in 24 which will have the most impact for some time is the arrangements with Fox. That partnership we have, we've already seen enormous benefits from and I think it's just the start. So if I had to pick one thing which I don't really love to do, it would be the relationship with Eric Shanks and his leadership team at Fox and the clearer sense of what we can do together that'll be great for the sport.

BRUCE:

And another thing that you have to feel very proud about is you started at the end of 2012. And at that time, race day at the Indianapolis 500, we could visibly see gaps of empty seats, mostly in the North chute, some in the South chute. Now you guys are like sellout range. Last year, I believe you fell like 3,700 tickets shy of selling every grandstand seat. So just how much pride and importance was it to restore the Indianapolis 500 race day to being unquestionably the biggest show in sports, the largest crowd for a single day sporting event in the world?

MARK:

I think if you ask anybody that works here for IMS or for IndyCar or for both sides of the street, as we call it, it's the central thing. We recognize that the series is vital and the vital connection between the Speedway and the 500 and IndyCar. But yeah, this is the icon. Many of us are from Indianapolis, Indiana, and so we grew up having nothing to do with it except admiring it and maybe coming out here. So we take enormous, all of us take enormous pride in it. And again, sports is volatile, but I think we're on a really good track. It's been solid growth post-COVID. I already know that the renewals sales Following our last checkered flag are Usefully ahead of the renewal period a year before which was ahead of the year before that. So it just keeps continuing the growth and People want to get in they want to get their seats and we'll just keep making it a great experience for the fans

BRUCE:

How excited are you over the potential anticipation that if you reach that goal, the race could be shown live on Fox 59 in Indianapolis, the Fox affiliate, because I know that that's something you did in 2016. Well, you lifted the blackout for this year's race in 2024 because of the rain delay. Do you have a number in mind that it would take in order to say, okay, now we could consider lifting the blackout?

MARK:

No, we don't have a number in mind. I think we're focused on selling out the grandstands and having big crowds in the infield. We already have a waiting list for the suites, so it's going to be a huge crowd. You know, we'll keep pushing and see what happens. I can tell you that if you talk to our friends at the Fox Affiliate, they would think that'd be a really good day if that happened. And it would be terrific, but got a lot of work to do to get there.

BRUCE:

And I'm going to ask you one non-IndyCar question. Returning the Brickyard 400 to the Oval, what was your thoughts on how that went? Was the crowds Better was it significantly better and what did you think of the racing?

MARK:

Um, I think it was the right thing to do. I think the You know for for NASCAR the prestige of the oval the history of the oval is important. I thought the racing was good We thought that it would get people Some people to sort of take another look by doing it with IndyCar running them together and I think it did that helped a little bit, and then going back to NASCAR only on the oval was growth. So that's good. The total attendance is increasing, and we want to see that continue.

BRUCE:

And also, you got a popular winner with Kyle Larson, who was the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year just a couple of months earlier. And the fact that he's going to be back in 2025, that's another example of just how every real racer dreams of racing in the Indianapolis 500.

MARK:

Yeah, it's magical. And you can't invent that. You can't just make it up. All you got to do is see how it affects racers who are Hall of Fame kind of racers, and it says it all.

BRUCE:

Well, I know you're a very busy man, and I really appreciate the time that you spent with us in 2024. I'm sure we'll spend even more time on interviews and working together in 2025. But Penske Entertainment president and CEO, Mark Miles, have a very Merry Christmas, a great holiday season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

MARK:

Thanks, Bruce. All the same to you. Have a great holidays and thanks to to you for making it possible for us to chat with your listeners.

BRUCE:

Thank you. And that puts a checkered flag on this special holiday edition of Pit Pass Indy. We want to thank our guest, Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles, for joining us on this special edition of Pit Pass Indy. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy your path to victory lane in IndyCar. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin500, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, followed by the underscore 500. Happy New Year, everybody. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team, executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.