Mike O’Gara is joining IndyCar and taking on the role as its Vice President of Competition, Race Engineering.
A longtime veteran of the industry, O’Gara will serve as the “senior technical authority” for IndyCar, and lead everything that includes vehicle performance strategy, race engineering, and technical governance across the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT. Additionally, he will be in charge of IndyCar’s long-term technical identity, with research and development initiatives of the next-generation technologies that also includes the expected new car for 2028.
“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.”
A 54-year-old Indiana native, O’Gara’s previous experience extends across IndyCar, IMSA, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He spent the last 12 years at Chip Ganassi Racing, helping establish the team’s Cadillac endurance program that won the 12 Hours of Sebring (2014), the Rolex 24 At Daytona (2015), and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2016). As part of CGR’s IndyCar program, he contributed to the team’s championships with Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, along with victories in the 2022 and 2025 editions of the Indianapolis 500 with Marcus Ericsson and Palou.
O’Gara also previously held 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 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway 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 to 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.”
O’Gara’s role at IndyCar also 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.
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