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Walker Named To Senior Management Role At IndyCar

INDIANAPOLIS
(Monday, May 13, 2013) – Respected
longtime motorsports executive Derrick Walker will become President, Operations
& Competition of INDYCAR, effective May 27, Hulman & Company chief
executive officer Mark Miles announced today.

Walker will be
responsible for all technical and competition aspects of the racing operations
at the open-wheel sanctioning body.

“We’re pleased to
welcome Derrick Walker to this vital role,” said Mark Miles, chief executive
officer, Hulman & Company, the parent company of INDYCAR. “We spoke with
many of our constituents about an ideal person for this job, and Derrick’s name
emerged early and often.

“After speaking
with many talented candidates, Derrick stood out because his decades of
experience in North American open-wheel racing blend ownership and management
for his own race teams and other teams. He understands how to balance the
technical and financial operations of our sport, and his confident leadership
will provide a firm, clear direction for long-term INDYCAR operations and
competition.”

Walker’s
senior-level leadership experience will help him to foster improved
communication with INDYCAR team owners and suppliers in these crucial areas:

-Cost management

-Enhancing
innovation within the current technical platform and race formats

-Continuing to
emphasize and develop safety initiatives

-Sustaining
programs and avenues to develop drivers and suppliers for the IZOD IndyCar
Series

-Developing plans
for future technical platforms

“I have had the opportunity to participate in the business
of professional racing my entire life, and I have gained valuable
experience from
many different angles,” Walker said. “Leading the operations and competition
aspects of INDYCAR is a perfect place to leverage my experiences and
relationships to help ensure that INDYCAR racing is exciting and engaging for
our fans, that our drivers and owners are able to showcase their talents
through our events, and that our technical partners are able to use our racing
platform for innovation and development.”

Reporting directly
to Walker will be Brian Barnhart, who will serve as senior vice president of
operations; race director Beaux Barfield; vice president of technology Will
Phillips; vice president of technology, timing and scoring Jon Koskey; director
of grassroots initiatives Jason Penix; and Firestone Indy Lights
director Anton “Tony”
George Jr.

Walker, 68, comes
to INDYCAR after serving as general manager for Ed Carpenter Racing in the IZOD
IndyCar Series, leading the team to a victory last September at Auto Club
Speedway in the team’s first season.

A native of
Scotland, Walker brings more than 40 years of experience in many forms of racing
to INDYCAR, beginning as a mechanic and culminating in the creation and
ownership of a successful racing team, Walker Motorsports, Ltd., since 1990.
Over his career, Walker has worked with teams like Ferrari in sports car
racing, Brabham and Penske Racing in Formula One, and Porsche and Penske Racing
in Indy car. Walker spent 13 years with legendary Indianapolis 500 team owner
Roger Penske as part of Penske Cars Ltd., which designed and manufactured
race-winning Penske Indy cars in the United Kingdom, and also served as vice
president of racing for Penske Racing.

Throughout Walker’s
19 years as a team owner, he fielded multi-car teams in 414 races in IndyCar,
Firestone Indy Lights and Formula BMW, earning six victories and 16 poles with
drivers such as Gil de Ferran, Scott Goodyear, Christian Fittipaldi, Sarah
Fisher, Alex Tagliani, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Paul Tracy. The team
made Indianapolis 500 history in 1991 by fielding an entry for Willy T. Ribbs,
who became the first African-American to qualify for the race.

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