IndyCar president Derrick Walker resigns, to step down after season

IndyCar president Derrick Walker has resigned and will step down after the season's final race Aug. 30.

IndyCar president Derrick Walker has resigned and will step down after the season's final race Aug. 30.

Walker has been president since May 2013. Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reports that Walker “feels responsibility” for IndyCar's challenges this season.

“He should speak for himself, but I think he feels like on the one hand there have been competition/technical things that didn't go as planned,” Hulman & Company CEO Mark Miles, who oversees IndyCar, told the Star. ”He's the kind of guy that wants to take personal responsibility for those things.”

Miles told the Star he didn't influence Walker's decision. This season, IndyCar introduced new aero kits, and the organization also changed qualifying rules related to car specifics that have created issues between rival manufacturers Honda and Chevy. Miles acknowledged that the changes have not been what he, Walker and the rest of IndyCar's top executives hoped for. Walker was also scrutinized for decisions and rulings made by his race control staff during the season.​

“But [Walker's] done an excellent job,” Miles said, according to the Indianapolis Star. “He's been a real tiger in sticking with the discussions with Honda and Chevy, and we're about ready to conclude those extensions, which is great. I think he's brought a lot of great things to the sport as well."'

- Jeremy Woo