Ganassi irate at ruling

The controversy was focused on NASCAR's no-racing-to-yellow policy, put in place late last summer. Under the policy, positions in the field are frozen and recorded electronically at the time of the caution.

Eventual winner Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne had pitted just before a caution came out. Because their pit stalls were beyond the finish line, they were allowed to remain on the lead lap when the field was frozen with Jamie McMurray, formerly in third place, promoted to the lead. However, McMurray and the other six drivers on the lead lap then pitted under caution, returning Kenseth and Kahne to the front spots, from where they would go on to finish first and second. McMurray eventually finished third.

Ganassi, who went directly to NASCAR race control after the race to argue his driver's cause, said: "We got robbed in front of 100,000 people."

Felix Sabates, who co-owns McMurray's Dodge with Ganassi, added: "Those two cars in front of us were a lap down. NASCAR told them to go around the pace car to get a lap back. They made a mistake, but they're never going to admit they made a mistake. That's the way it goes.

"Stevie Wonder could see what happened. We won the race. There was no explanation, no reviewing. They know who won it. You know who won it."

NASCAR president Mike Helton defended the decision. "It was our determination with timing and scoring that [Kenseth and Kahne] were still on the lead lap when the caution came out," he said. "They were rolling, and we gave them what they lost when the pace car went by them."