INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George commented for the first time Friday about the events leading up to his departure.

It was announced on June 30 that George would no longer serve as CEO of IMS, the Indy Racing League and other related companies.

In a statement released on the Web site of Vision Racing, which he still runs, George said that he offered ideas to the board about a reorganization of management, but that he turned down their offer to head up the IRL portion of the business.

"I did not feel that a subordinate position as 'CEO of the IRL' was a management vehicle which would allow me to accomplish the objectives that the family and the board requested me to pursue," the statement reads.

The board, led by George's mother, Mari Hulman George, said George would remain a part of the organization. He said he would remain committed to IMS.

"While my service as CEO has now ended, I consider my stewardship to be a life-long appointment," he said in the statement.

George said he would also provide a proposal for the board to evaluate in an effort to take a "forward-looking approach," although the statement did not specify what exactly that would include.

He also said that his family would continue its commitment to IMS and IRL.

The Hulman-George family has run the speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500, for six decades and also owns the IRL and Clabber Girl, a baking-powder company based in Terre Haute, Ind.

Longtime IMS executives W. Curtis Brighton and Jeffrey G. Belskus will take over the leadership roles, with Bright, currently executive vice president and chief legal counsel, becoming president and CEO of Hulman & Company and Belskus, currently executive vice president and chief financial officer for the companies, becoming president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp.

More Information: George Statement