"It's hard not to cry" - IndyCar President Doug Boles discloses monumental changes to the IMS Museum

Since its construction in 1956, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has traversed IndyCar's racing eras by preserving the track's rich heritage. The Museum has been closed off for renovation since November 2023 and will open for the public again on April 2. IMS and IndyCar President Doug Boles has shared huge changes that will transform the museum from its previous iteration.

The IMS Museum pays tribute to the racing eras by showcasing cars from different generations. The museum was first expanded in 1976 and has remained relatively similar since then, except for the cars rotating from the exhibition.

With the museum slated to open soon, IMS President Boles shared his take on Conor Daly's Speed Street podcast as he said:

"It is going to transform the way that we tell the story about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and in particular IndyCar racing, but also the other events that have taken place here. So, if you loved it before, you loved it because you love the cars, and they were static. What you'll love about it now is you can bring your friends, who don't know anything about the racing, you can bring your kids in, whatever you want to do and you can tell the story and walk people through why they should love it without 'Disney-fying' it." (1:09:45 onwards)

"We walked through it last week even when it wasn't completely rendered and with all the subwoofers going, and it's almost if you love the place like we all love it, it's hard not to cry; it's that emotional feeling that you get at the beginning of the race." (1:10:36 onwards)

Doug Boles replaced Jay Frye at the helm of IndyCar and became the president of the organization on February 11.

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Doug Boles takes up another role within the IndyCar ladder

Doug Boles at the 103rd Indianapolis 500 - Legends Day - Source: Getty

Though Boles already has several tasks lined up ahead for him, his workload will increase tremendously for the initial phase of the 2025 season. He was named president of both the IMS and the racing organization and will take up another duty for the 2025 calendar.

According to RACER.com, Richard Buck and Penske Entertainment Corporation parted ways ahead of the 2025 Indy NXT season. This has led Doug Boles to take up the responsibility of being the series director in the ladder series.

The 58-year-old is expected to continue in this role until Penske Entertainment Corporation finds a replacement for Buck. In the meantime, St. Petersburg will act as the season opener for both the IndyCar and IndyNXT calendars on March 2.