Beth with her son Conor in last year’s Indy 500
Doug & Beth...
Racing is always on their minds, and in their blood
Remember when your parents
gave you advice that sounded
something like this: “Live life to
the fullest – follow your bliss,
work hard, learn the most that
you can, use it for a positive purpose, and pass it on; always keep
reaching, perform to the maximum of your capabilities, but
above all, BE HAPPY. Well, it
seems that Doug and Beth Boles
were definitely paying attention,
because they have accomplished
all this and more.
Doug spent many years involved in the world of auto racing: he grew up in Danville,
where his dad was a judge as
well as the US Auto Club Yearbook editor in the early ‘60s.
Doug and his siblings regularly
watched racing on TV, traveled
to races at various tracks, and
read all the auto sports magazines, so it was an integral part
of growing up for him – woven
seamlessly into the fabric of his
childhood. His earliest racing
hero was AJ Foyt, whose career he followed closely, and for
whose team Beth’s son Conor
raced in 2013. When he started
college at Butler, he was thinking that he might later go to Med
School, but quickly realized that
what he really wanted was a career involving motor sports. He
did a bit of work in journalism,
but still hadn’t fixed on a plan.
Then after college there was IU
Law School, and that paved the
way for his time on Indianapolis Mayor Goldsmith’s team, as
well as his role as attorney for,
co-founder and COO of Panther
Racing from 1997-2006. When
pressed for details, he modestly
reports that they won 15 races
and 2 Indy Car championships
while he was there. He is proud
to admit that this year will be
his 38th Indy 500 race, and over
200 IndyCar events in his life.
Now President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he has
made improvements to the Indy
track in time for hosting of the
new Grand Prix of Indianapolis INDYCAR race on May 10.
These include, among other
things, resurfacing the entire
road course, new spectator
mounds, new track corners, flexibility for track usage, and new
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