Penske's Indy 500 victory stands

Debate centred upon the relative positions of the two race-leading cars at the start of a 'yellow' caution period, immediately after an accident on the penultimate lap. In an 11-page ruling, issued yesterday, George said that ample evidence supported the decision of the officials that Castroneves was leading at the moment when race control called the caution. He also affirmed that the decision was: "A judgement call, not protestable nor appealable under the rulebook."

Team Green had protested the race result to the IRL's VP Operations, Brian Barnhart, who had denied the protest. Team Green then filed an appeal, which George handled personally by conducting an all-day hearing on June 17.

"The fact that the race ended under yellow was not the fault of anyone involved in this proceeding," George said. "How it was handled, however, does reflect directly on the participants. In my opinion, this proceeding has highlighted the quality and integrity of the work done by Brian Barnhart and his staff, both during and after the race, and has also shown the quality and integrity of the personnel employed by Team Green and Penske Racing."