INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s a good thing Doug Boles seems to have more energy than most people – he needs it now more than ever.

“I don’t think I have a choice!” the Indianapolis Motor Speedway president said with a wide smile to start a freewheeling conversation with WISH-TV’s Daybreak.

On Tuesday, Boles became the newly appointed president of the IndyCar series, and he says he’s still working out how to wear both hats.

“I’ve got to figure it out. It’s been 72 hours, so I’m still trying to get my feet underneath me,” he explained. It’s been a lot of fun, actually, the last few days, just spending some time with the folks over at IndyCar.

Boles’ new role puts him in charge of a sport he already knows well, but it puts him on a quicker calendar than the one he’s used to as head of the track.

As of Friday, the Indianapolis 500 is 100 days away, but IndyCar goes green far sooner than that.

“They’re flat out – getting ready for the beginning of the season, which starts basically practice two weeks from today at St. Petersburg to get things kicked off. So, today’s kind of a special day, two weeks to the beginning of the season,” Boles said.

Ever the promoter, Boles is gently reminding race fans that they are under a bit of pressure, too. Ticket prices for the Indy 500 increase at the end of the month.

“And then it’ll change again later,” he cautioned, explaining the Speedway’s longstanding policy of not cutting prices close to the race. “We want you to know that if you’re going to give us that money early, there’s never going to be a point at which time where you go, ‘Well, why did that person get a better deal than I got!?’ So right now, it’s the best deal you’ll get, and it’ll just continue to increase as we get closer.”

Pressed on his immediate plans for the series, Boles says not to expect any immediate seismic shifts.

“I don’t think you can come in and change a lot, at least right now,” he started. “So for me, it’s getting my feet underneath me, talking to staff, talk to promoters, talk to teams, talk to drivers. What can we do better? How can we just collectively keep this thing moving forward? The 500 is healthy because 350,000 fans tell you it’s the greatest race in the world and we’re going to be there. What we need is the entire NTT IndyCar Series pack to believe the same thing as we move that forward.”