The Indianapolis Star reports that the deadline for securing insurance for the program that would have paid a non-IndyCar driver $5 million if he or she won the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas passed Aug. 31, meaning that no driver will be eligible for the big prize.
At a press conference at the Baltimore Grand Prix on Saturday, team owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi said that they never gave serious consideration to fielding all-star drivers in one of their cars at next month's IZOD IndyCar World Championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ganassi said he briefly considered fielding a car for two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi, but then he "laid down and that consideration went away."
Penske said it would have been "just so difficult" to get a guest driver in competitive form for the event. He said he would have insisted they compete in an IndyCar race beforehand.
Although the bonus appears off the table, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has hinted there still could be a surprise element to the finale.