Mike O'Gara at Portland after Alex Palou clinched the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series ChampionshipIndyCar Photo by Chris Owens - 2023 Instagram: @chrisowensIt’s one of the biggest weekends of the season for the NTT IndyCar Series at the 51st Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. It’s the biggest street race in North America and the second biggest street race in the world behind Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix.Before the series left home base in Indianapolis earlier this week, IndyCar hired a key Chip Ganassi Racing official to an important position within the series.It’s veteran motorsports executive and longtime race team engineer Mike O’Gara, who was named vice president of competition, race engineering, by IndyCar on April 15.O’Gara will serve as the senior technical authority for IndyCar, leading all aspects of vehicle performance strategy, race engineering and technical governance across the NTT IndyCar Series and INDY NXT by Firestone.

He also will be charged to define and drive IndyCar’s long-term technical roadmap, research and development initiatives and the development of next-generation technologies, including the new 2028 NTT IndyCar Series race car. “I am thrilled to take this next step in my career and honored to join IndyCar in this critical role for the series,” O’Gara said. “This is truly an exciting time for the sport with a new car on the horizon and the opportunity to build on a growing focus and interest in INDY NXT.

“I know my prior experience has set me up to successfully contribute and help mold the future of North America’s premier open-wheel racing series. I cannot wait to get started.” The 54-year-old O’Gara is from Indiana and comes to IndyCar with over 30 years of experience leading championship-winning programs across IndyCar, IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, including the last 12 years in executive leadership at Chip Ganassi Racing. During that time, O’Gara established the team’s Cadillac endurance program after helping win the 12 Hours of Sebring (2014), the Rolex 24 At Daytona (2015) and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2016).

Mike O'GaraIndyCar PhotoDuring his involvement in Ganassi’s IndyCar Series program, O’Gara contributed to the team’s IndyCar championships with Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, and 2022 and 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victories with Marcus Ericsson and Palou. O’Gara’s previous IndyCar team experience includes roles as the director of operations at Sarah Fisher Racing (2010-14) and as a race engineer at Chip Ganassi Racing (2004-10) and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (2000-04). “Mike’s vast experience in motorsports will make a substantial impact to IndyCar’s competition and engineering team,” IndyCar President J.

Douglas Boles said. “It is clear that his impressive list of accomplishments, engineering acumen and proven knowledge of building high-performance teams and operations have the respect of the IndyCar paddock and will continue be a real asset for our sport in this new role. We look forward to working with Mike as we look toward building competition, innovation, safety initiatives and IndyCar’s world-class racing.” Mike O’Gara’s Important Roles At IndyCarAccording to IndyCar, O’Gara’s role will include: • Overseeing all technical rulemaking, providing objective, engineering-driven leadership in the development of regulations and technical bulletins to ensure fairness, innovation and cost control. • Working closely with teams, manufacturers and suppliers to align technical direction with the broader goals of the series while fostering transparency and collaboration through technical working groups. • Leading ongoing safety advancements, maintaining a strong and proactive focus on the development and implementation of enhanced safety technologies. • Serving as the central technical voice of IndyCar, ensuring that engineering strategy, regulatory direction and on-track performance remain aligned as the series continues to evolve.

Prior to his experience with race teams, the Purdue engineering graduate served as the technical director at PI Research, USA and a quality engineer for Honda of America manufacturing. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is Sunday, April 19 on the famous streets of Long Beach, California. C overage begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX.Mike O'Gara (left) hugs Alex Palou after the team clinched the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series Championship at Portland.IndyCar Photo by Chris Owens - 2023 Instagram: @chrisowensThis article was originally published on Forbes.com