The final round of the inaugural American Racing Series (later to be renamed "Indy Lights") season was held on November 9, 1986, at Tamiami Park in Miami/FL. First across the line was Juan Manuel Fangio III but, like third- and fourth-place finishers Tommy Byrne and Guido Daccò, he was later penalized 45 seconds for a pit infraction, handing the win to series champion Fabrizio Barbazza, his fifth of the campaign. That's what I always believed, that is.
Now I find a (probably syndicated) newspaper listing from November 18, more than a week after the race, tabulating the final points as if the penalty had been rescinded, and crediting the win to Fangio again, with Barbazza back to only four wins! What happened? Was the decision appealed, and did the protesters win out? Mind you, it didn't have much of an impact on the final standings, with the only change in the top ten being Byrne in 6th place instead of Billy Boat, but there was quite a bit of money at stake, with Fangio and his team alone to gain $10,000 in the case of a successful appeal. But did it really happen, or was that a newspaper cock-up, publishing an old news item that had been lying around for a week or so? When was the penalty actually administered? Did the SCCA even publish the standings before that happened?
It's all a bit of an odd scenario, but with the season finishing so late, it is quite conceivable that a successful appeal could have been "lost" to the majority of the specialized press, eager to close the book on a long season!