NBC Sports Network's Robin Miller is reporting on SPEED.com that Ed Carpenter Racing team manager Derrick Walker has agreed to become IndyCar's president of racing operations, and that a formal announcement is expected next week.
Walker, 68, has over four decades of racing experience across Formula One, IndyCar and sports cars. He served as Penske Racing's vice president of racing for much of the 1980s, and then created his own CART/Champ Car squad in 1991, where he fielded programs for drivers like Scott Goodyear, Robby Gordon, Gil de Ferran, and Will Power. He also ran an Indy Racing League team in 2000 and 2001, which gave current team owner Sarah Fisher her big break as a driver.
In addition to his duties at ECR, Walker also currently serves as manager of the Falken Tire Porsche team in the American Le Mans Series. Per Miller's report, Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles has been pursuing Walker for months in regards to joining IndyCar management.
He's not the first big cheese to go after Walker, either; Miller writes that former IndyCar leader Randy Bernard tried to get him to work for the series last year before Carpenter managed to acquire his services for his own team.
