Indy Motor Speedway says IndyCar CEO hasn't been fired

• Randy Bernard denied reports from that he was fired as CEO of IndyCar
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway also denied the Indianapolis Business Journal report
• Reports had surfaced in August that a group of IndyCar owners were attempting to get Bernard fired

Embattled IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard denied a published report Friday that he has been fired.

Citing anonymous sources, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported that Bernard was fired Thursday by the board of directors of Hulman & Company, which operates both IndyCar (the parent company of the Izod IndyCar Series) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

However, Bernard told The Associated Press the report wasn't true.

Attempts by USA TODAY Sports to contact Bernard were unsuccessful Friday.

A spokesman for Indianapolis Motor Speedway also denied the report.

"Randy has not been terminated and his employment status is the same as it was last week and last month," IMS spokesman Doug Boles told IBJ. "At this point, Randy is not fired. That is the case at the moment and in the future."

The report said the board and Bernard are negotiating a settlement, and had hoped to keep news of the firing under wraps for two weeks.

The series reportedly lost between $7 million and $8 million this season, IBJ reported, much of it as a result of a canceled race in China.

Bernard's ouster could open the door for the return of a former IndyCar CEO to power. On Oct. 18, Tony George submitted his resignation from the Hulman & Company board of directors, citing a conflict of interest for expressing interest in buying IndyCar, which Hulman & Company spokespeople insisted was not for sale.

Bernard replaced George in 2010 after George resigned his position as CEO of the series after he was fired as CEO of Hulman & Company in a family dispute that included his mother and three sisters.

Initially welcomed as someone free of the Hulman/George family dispute and the history of the split that devastated open-wheel racing, Bernard's star didn't shine long.

As the events of this year unfolded, reports indicated the group of owners was attempting to get the Hulman & Co. board to fire Bernard, who acknowledged the effort earlier this year.

"There are some very rational owners who have discussed issues with me and have discussed them in a practical way," Bernard USA TODAY Sports in August while discussing a dispute about the price of replacement parts. "There are others that just want to create turmoil and continue to fight."

Bernard came to IndyCar after serving as CEO of Professional Bull Riders. While at IndyCar, he oversaw a transition to a new Dallara chassis and new turbocharged engines. He also helped the series attract two more engine manufacturers, Chevrolet and Lotus, to join Honda as the series' engine supplier.

However, owners and manufacturers became critical of his handling of disputes, including one between Honda and Chevrolet that was dubbed "turbogate" and settled by a retired federal judge. Owners also criticized Bernard for favoring more lucrative street races over oval races, a move that has changed the balance between road/street racing and oval racing.

While owners grumbled mostly in private, Bernard at times took the fight public.

"I'm not sure that they understand the bigger picture," he said in August. "It's important for us to listen to and understand what everyone is saying. There are a lot who understand what we're trying to do, but there are some who don't."

During the season finale in September at Fontana, Calif., two of IndyCar's most successful and influential owners, Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, seemed to throw their support behind Bernard.

"I don't like people to point the finger at challenges and issues we have; I like people with solutions," Ganassi said at the time. "Anybody can point out the obvious. I've been around this sport since 1982, and every year it's always about how the series is doing and what's going on. It's about politics."

But board members, not owners, were in charge of the final decision regarding Bernard, and finances could have played a role. Bernard canceled a scheduled street race in Qingdao, China, in August, just weeks before teams were scheduled to depart. The loss was thought to be in the $4 million range, turning a minor loss for the year into a significant one.

The series also faces the possibility of losing two of its partners, Firestone and Izod, while teams and sponsors have been critical of a TV package that has most of the series' races on third-tier cable network NBC Sports, limiting the number of households that receive live coverage of IndyCar races.