Castroneves Victory Stands at Indy 500

The winner, and still champion--Helio Castroneves!

The Indy Racing League ruled Monday at Indianapolis that there was not enough evidence to support a protest by runner-up Paul Tracy and Team Green and that Castroneves’ victory in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 would stand.

Tracy passed Castroneves on Lap 199 of the 200-lap race, just as cars driven by Laurent Redon and Buddy Lazier tangled half a lap behind. At issue was when the yellow caution light was displayed, before Tracy made his pass or afterward. Positions are frozen when the light comes on. Tracy maintained that he had passed Castroneves while the green light was showing. Castroneves said the light was yellow.

“This was such an incredible set of circumstances,” said Brian Barnhart, the IRL vice president for operations and the race’s chief steward.

After a two-hour hearing with Team Green, and two more hours of deliberation, IRL officials concluded that there was insufficient proof that Tracy had moved ahead before the caution period was called. Officials had reviewed tapes and other pertinent data for nearly six hours after Sunday’s race before declaring Castroneves, the defending race champion, the winner.

“Team Green did not present anything that was conclusive enough in any way, shape or form to change our mind,” Barnhart said after Monday’s session.

Team Green has five business days to file an appeal, which would leave the decision in the hands of Tony George, IRL president and owner of the Indianapolis Speedway. Tom McGovern of Team Green said no decision had been made on an appeal.

“Right now, the team is just looking at our options,” he said. “We’re going to step back, accept second place [for now] and go from there.”

Tracy said, “I’m very disappointed, obviously.”

The ruling confirmed Castroneves as the first repeat winner since Al Unser in 1971 and Roger Penske as the winning owner for the 12th time.

“I thought the process was a good one,” Penske said of the review and hearing. “It’s unfortunate we have this kind of an end. Let’s get on to the next race.”

On Sunday, in response to a question, Tracy had said that, since he normally drives in races sanctioned by CART, the IRL’s rival group in open-wheel racing, he thought politics might play a part in the decision. Barnhart said Monday that had not been the case.

“Anyone who would look at how quick this decision had to be made would know the thought of IRL versus CART can’t remotely cross my mind,” Barnhart said. “You really try so hard to make the right call in your heart, in your gut, and know exactly what is being done.”

He added that the final decision had been made based on three points on Lap 199 at which Castroneves was indisputably the leader:

* At the last line of scoring before the caution period.

* At the time of the accident.

* At the time race officials called for a caution.

Besides the yellow lights mounted along the track perimeter, there also are car installations, on the steering wheels or dashboards. Barnhart said there was no question that Castroneves was leading when the yellow lights went on in the cars, but said there was no way to tell who was leading when the track lights came on, since there can be a split-second’s difference.

“There are always human-reaction times,” he said. “But I think the system did work well.”

For Penske, the situation was at least slightly reminiscent of the 1981 race.

That year, Bobby Unser, driving for Penske, took the checkered flag as the apparent winner. When the official standings were posted the next morning, however, Unser had been penalized a lap for passing during a caution period and Mario Andretti was listed as the winner.

Penske appealed and hearings went beyond the summer before the then-sanctioning United States Auto Club revoked the penalty in October, ruling that it should have been assessed at the time of the infraction, not a day later.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.