IndyCar adopting subcommittees to tackle future direction with growth, charters

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- After a tumultuous 24 hours in the IndyCar paddock, Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles told reporters Saturday afternoon he believes series management has "had all the conversations we've needed to have this weekend" to move past private and public criticisms directed at IndyCar owner Roger Penske's willingness to put sizable investments toward the series' future growth.

After telling reporters a week ago that IndyCar leadership would move forward with a small group of team owners -- now being referred to as a formal "subcommittee" -- to put together an agreeable charter system proposal by this May's Indy 500, Miles says IndyCar is doing the same to analyze IndyCar's growth opportunities.

Dan Towriss (Andretti Global) and Jim Meyer (Meyer Shank Racing) -- both of whom are also part of the charters subcommittee, according to Miles -- have been tabbed for the "growth" roles, as well as McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

"We're engaging people to move things along,” Miles said Saturday. “We're looking for their thoughts and ideas on what has to happen, and there's a lot of different ways to put investment money together. It doesn't necessarily mean Roger has to write the check. First, we have to figure out what moves the needle, and everyone has an idea.

"Now, we've had all the conversations we've needed to have this weekend, and we're moving on."

Earlier this month, while discussing IndyCar's growth in 2023 in TV ratings, merchandise sales, race weekend attendance and series sponsors and addressing private concerns that series ownership wasn't spending enough or growing fast enough, Miles noted Penske Entertainment is engaged in talks to "invest with partners to do more and grow faster."

In a follow-up, Miles clarified that Penske Entertainment has no desire to sell a stake in the series in order to land an influx of cash.

"We're talking to all kinds of folks about other ideas to help us with even more rapid growth," Miles said. "But we're not looking to make investments that provide a spike in the metrics for the series. We're looking for really solid sustainable growth over time.”

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In a separate sit-down with IndyStar March 1, Miles said the opportunities vary, from talks with media platforms, studios and production houses about shoulder programming opportunities to partnering on new races as a promoter with an outside party that would keep the series from having to be passive and wait for those opportunities to come along.

"You could pick a topic, maybe being a race promoter, and you could imagine organizing an initiative or project and bringing in somebody who's really good at that and who can bring capital and help share the investment and the risk and then work together on adding new races," Miles told IndyStar. "You could look at shoulder programming, and rather than us going from place to place to place to place and seeing what's out there, maybe there's someone who would partner with us.

"This would be partnerships that aren't in the equity of the business, but focused on specific initiatives."

Added Jonathan Gibson, Penske Corp. executive vice president of marketing and business development: "Not a day goes by in the last four years with Roger, (Roger's son) Greg (Penske) and Mark that we don't talk about investing and growing the sport, and those areas Mark just alluded to, we're going to continue to invest, and when those opportunities come up that we feel like give us an opportunity to significantly grow the sport, we'll invest and do that."

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The sentiments fly in the face of public comments made Friday by legendary driver and longtime team owner Michael Andretti, who was miffed about an initial proposal from series leadership to create a charter system that would provide value to most (or all) of the active full-time entries, should they look to sell equity or exit the sport altogether. In that first arrangement, teams would've been asked to pay $1 million per car for the right to participate, with the guarantee of a certain amount of annual prize money and potentially a guaranteed spot on the Indy 500 grid.

Team owners were told that that money would be then invested back into the sport.

"But $20 million isn't going to do anything. You've got to have at least five times that number -- at least," Andretti told a small group of reporters. "'Don't take our money, Roger. You bought the series. We don't own the series.'"

When a reporter noted the tough spot Penske, the noted billionaire, is in, in trying to have a sport that can stand on its own, but wanting to see it grow and whether he should be expected to personally fund that growth -- or do so with Penske Corp. funds unrelated to IndyCar and IMS -- Andretti responded:

"Then sell the series. There's people out there willing to do it. I think there's a lot of people on the sidelines thinking, 'This is a diamond in the rough if you do it right.' But what you need is big money behind it to get it to that level, and if he's not willing to do it, I think he should step aside and let someone else buy it.

"I told him, 'Why don't you sell part of the series to somebody and use that money as an equity stake?' You still keep that control, but you take that money and invest it, but he doesn't want any partners."

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On the bright side, Andretti noted -- as Miles had detailed the week prior and affirmed Saturday with the creation of the 'growth' subcommittee -- that he does believe series ownership would be willing to put forward sizable funds for the betterment of the series if the investment opportunities "make sense."

"But we need to find the talent that know how to do those things, spending money to make it happen," Andretti said. "I think Roger has to decide where he wants to go. Does he want to make this an elite series, a world series that you can put in front of the world? Or do you want to keep it at the level it is?"

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Zak Brown, Dan Towriss, Jim Meyer to investigate series growth opportunities