LONG BEACH, Calif. — Ever since Mark Miles assumed his position at IndyCar at the end of 2012, he has been optimistic that a third OEM would join Chevrolet and Honda in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Miles, who retained the CEO position after Roger Penske and the Penske Corp. bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar from the Hulman George Family on Nov. 4, 2019, is taking a different approach.
“It really varies by the meeting,” Miles told SPEED SPORT Friday at Long Beach, site of this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. “I’m going to be very flatlined about it until it is done.”
Earlier in Miles “State of the Sport” address to the media and other IndyCar officials, Miles said, “I quit giving out daily updates. It continues to be a very high priority, and conversations continue. It’s kind of like the Netflix content; until it’s done, it’s not done. Those things will happen eventually.”
Two weeks ago, at the Grand Prix of Portland, members from several IndyCar teams told SPEED SPORT that they had heard a third OEM was close. One even went so far as to speculate that it was Toyota.
According to Miles when quizzed by SPEED SPORT Friday morning, that’s exactly what it was – speculation.
“It’s hard for me to imagine the paddock has a clue,” Miles told SPEED SPORT. “These are not conversations we talk about. We want to communicate with our stakeholders, but there is no benefit to talking with them about it and I don’t think they have any insight.
“Rumors are rumors and that is usually what they are worth.”
Miles’ reaction could be viewed two ways. Either the series is closing in on a third OEM and doesn’t want any premature information leak to blow a potential deal. Or the search for a third OEM continues to be a frustrating process for IndyCar.
Either way, Miles believes it is very important for future growth than another automotive company join Chevrolet and Honda in the IndyCar paddock.
“I’ve never felt like in any organization, certainly not in a sport, that there’s a silver bullet,” Miles said. “We probably need to do a couple hundred things better all the time, and that’s been our mentality.
“But a third OEM would be a big thing because undoubtedly they would come and come not just to compete but to promote, so that would be another big box to tick if or when we get that done.”