Jay Frye displays on IndyCar run one yr after departure

It’s laborious to consider a yr has handed since Jay Frye departed his function as IndyCar President.

Feb. 11, 2025.

It’s a date that ended a pivotal tenure within the historical past of North America’s Premier open-wheel championship. Upon Frye’s exit, Penske Leisure appointed Doug Boles as his alternative and elevated obligations for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway President. Lower than two months later, on April 1, Frye was named as President of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL).

“It has been a whirlwind yr,” Frye instructed Motorsport.com.

“It is a type of issues that in sports activities and in enterprise and no matter, you may have totally different occasions. I name them runs. So we had a extremely good 10-year run at IndyCar, very pleased with all we completed. There’s a number of issues that I believe modified the game in a extremely optimistic method that occurred in that 10-year interval. A lot of nice folks have been concerned.”

After becoming a member of the game as its Chief Income Officer in 2013, Frye was promoted two years later as IndyCar’s President of Competitors and Operations. He was promoted to IndyCar President on the finish of 2018 and held the function throughout a number of ownerships – Hulman & Firm and Roger Penske – for the game.

There have been loads of modifications all through Frye’s decade-long tenure, with some that stand out greater than others.

“I believe the consensus within the paddock and the connection with the paddock is one thing I am actually most pleased with,” Frye stated. “It is laborious to place that on a resume, per se. However I felt like we have been all in it collectively, and I felt like in the end we needed to determine issues.

“That was our job; constructing a consensus, getting their opinions, we referred to as it harnessing the facility of the paddock. If you’re coping with a number of actually sensible those that have fairness in what we’re doing and wish this factor to achieve success, why would you not discuss to them, proper? That was at all times type of my strategy.”

From a technical side, although, Frye was fast to level to the aeroscreen.

The aeroscreen proved to be a big overtaking however got here collectively by means of a collaborated effort with Pink Bull Superior Applied sciences, PPG, Pankl, and Dallara, together with the groups.

“That is one thing I felt lots higher going to the racetrack after the aeroscreens have been on the vehicles,” Frye stated.

“I bear in mind how rapidly we did that. We referred to as Pink Bull in March of 2019 after which on the COTA Open Check in February of 2020, proper earlier than COVID, we had all 26 vehicles that have been taking part that had aeroscreens on.

“Eight months. We fully designed it, engineered it, constructed it, carried out it in an eight-month interval, which is simply spectacular.

“The Pink Bull guys have been superb, and that was coping with Jonathan Wheatley, Christian Horner. From the Pankl guys, the PPG guys, to our guys, to Dallara, to the groups, that was a monumental factor to get executed as rapidly as we received it executed, and that is one thing we must always all be pleased with. As soon as we began having it on all of the vehicles, it was a complete driver cockpit security resolution. The drivers and their security meant extra to me than something. That was one thing that I assumed was a game-changer for the game.”

Frye talked about the aeroscreen doubtlessly enticed seven-time NASCAR Cup Collection champion Jimmie Johnson and ex-Method 1 driver Romain Grosjean, amongst others, coming over to race in IndyCar.

“As you have a look at it, Jimmie Johnson and different those that got here into the game, Romain Grosjean, there have been drivers that got here in after that was carried out that may not have if we did not have it on the automobile,” Frye stated. “So I believe that was one thing that was a very good factor truly to assist develop the game.

“I additionally talked to a number of children concerning the automobile. They thought the automobile appeared actually cool, like a fighter jet. That was just a bit byproduct of the security gadget.

“We had the identical type of factor once we did the aero kits in 2018. It was a paddock-wide effort. We spun that round fairly fast. We received the identification of the Indy automobile again, an open-wheel automobile. The place earlier than with the producer kits, the rear wheels weren’t open.

“We received the look of the game again, which was a key a part of rising it.”

The addition of the aeroscreen on Scott Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Photograph by: IndyCar

One other distinctive merchandise that occurred below Frye’s supervision was the drama surrounding the title sponsorship of the collection when Verizon’s five-year run ended following the 2018 season. There was loads of stress to safe a deal heading into that yr’s season finale at Sonoma Raceway, and luckily, the celebrities aligned with NTT Knowledge.

“NTT, that was an enormous deal,” Frye stated. “We talked to NTT in Sonoma; it was the primary time we even talked to them. We had nothing going into the subsequent season. And between Sonoma in September till Christmas, we rotated a league entitlement, which, these are very difficult. That was one thing we received executed fairly fast, and we’re actually pleased with.

“You at all times wish to go away one thing higher after you are gone than once you received there. Hopefully, folks suppose it is higher now than what it was 10 years in the past.”

It was an fascinating time for Frye when his tenure with IndyCar got here to an finish, and that’s the place his skills to assist improve the paddock’s cohesiveness got here to the forefront.

“It took a few months to only determine what’s subsequent,” Frye stated.

“After I talked about consensus within the paddock, properly, this is Bobby Rahal, a former driver, any person that ran a league, any person that ran a group in F1, has his personal group. A plethora of data about all types of various issues. Bobby was at all times one of many ones I’d go bounce issues off of. So, I clearly developed a terrific relationship with him, as I attempted to or did with all of the house owners.”

“As soon as this went down, he was one of many first calls I received. And we began speaking, and I wasn’t certain precisely what I needed to do.”

Bobby Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Photograph by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen through Getty Pictures

As extra discussions befell, although, Frye acknowledged the dedication by RLL’s co-owners Mike Lanigan, David Letterman and Rahal, and likewise developed a deeper connection to assist the trigger.

“It was one thing that I actually felt,” Frye stated. “It began off being like, ‘Yeah, I simply wish to go assist one in all my pals. What can we do to assist get the factor rotated, get it pointed again in the fitting path,’ to the place now there’s some actually good issues happening right here, and we’re constructing one thing for the long run.”

This offseason, particularly, has seen a variety of new faces come to RLL.

There may be the apparent in Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time Method One World Champion Michael Schumacher who, himself, spent the final handful of years successful the 2020 Method 2 championship earlier than racing in each F1 and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The group additionally added Brian Barnhart, a well-respected paddock veteran of many roles who takes over as Senior Vice President of Operations and also will be Graham Rahal’s strategist. Amongst different key hires is the addition of Gavin Ward, a former Workforce Principal for Arrow McLaren and championship-winning engineer with Workforce Penske that was additionally beforehand with Pink Bull Racing, taking over an advisory function.

“We have a number of new folks in, actually, actually good folks, key those that we principally focused to go get,” Frye stated. “And there is a number of actually good folks which can be already right here.

“A part of it is simply altering the tradition. We strive to do this ‘MSH/GSD’ factor right here. Appears to be working, and simply enthusiastic about the place we’re going and what’s taking place.”

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