David Malukas will be sidelined for the start of the new NTT IndyCar Series season, and as a result, his Arrow McLaren team is working to identify a temporary replacement for its new young driver in the No. 6 Chevy. “Following a mountain biking …
David Malukas will be sidelined for the start of the new NTT IndyCar Series season, and as a result, his Arrow McLaren team is working to identify a temporary replacement for its new young driver in the No. 6 Chevy.
“Following a mountain biking incident this weekend, David Malukas successfully underwent surgery on Tuesday, February 13 to repair torn ligaments in his dislocated left wrist,” the team announced. “His recovery timeline is estimated to be six weeks following the removal of his stitches February 22. The team is currently evaluating reserve driver options for the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and will announce the driver in due course.”
Malukas was understandably disappointed.
“I’m gutted this happened, especially so close to the season,” he said. “I feel horrible for the team who have worked so hard to prepare for our first season together. I will be working hard to get back on track as soon as I can. I can’t wait to go racing with the team in papaya.”
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The incident has not diminished the 22-year-old’s standing within the team.
“It’s just heartbreaking for David, of course, and our entire team,” said team principal Gavin Ward. “We’ve seen how much work he and this entire group has put into preparing for his first season in papaya. But it’s often how we recover from setbacks and adversity that defines us and our character. We will do everything we can to support David in his recovery and when he’s back on track the success will be all the sweeter.”
After yesterday’s reveal of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series livery for Alexander Rossi’s No. 7, the Arrow McLaren team today pulled off the covers of the 2024 papaya and blue No. 6 Chevrolet to be driven by the team’s newly signed David Malukas. The new …
After yesterday’s reveal of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series livery for Alexander Rossi’s No. 7, the Arrow McLaren team today pulled off the covers of the 2024 papaya and blue No. 6 Chevrolet to be driven by the team’s newly signed David Malukas. The new look for the third member of the Arrow McLaren trio — the No. 7 of Pato O’Ward — will be revealed on Thursday.
Dreams have come true for sophomore NTT IndyCar Series driver David Malukas who has been signed by Arrow McLaren to drive the team’s third car in 2024 alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi. Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube. Presented by: …
Dreams have come true for sophomore NTT IndyCar Series driver David Malukas who has been signed by Arrow McLaren to drive the team’s third car in 2024 alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi.
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The career trajectory of David Malukas is taking a swift upward rise as the Illinois native will trade his Dale Coyne Racing Honda for a Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren IndyCar entry in 2024. Malukas brings his big personality and promising talent …
The career trajectory of David Malukas is taking a swift upward rise as the Illinois native will trade his Dale Coyne Racing Honda for a Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren IndyCar entry in 2024.
Malukas brings his big personality and promising talent to a team in transition as the Zak Brown- and Gavin Ward-led outfit chases a return to victory lane. He completes the three-car roster in a multi-year contract and will drive the No. 6 Chevy alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi.
“David is an up and comer in the NTT IndyCar Series and based on what we’ve seen from him so far in his first two seasons, I’m confident there’s a lot of talent we can extract from him through the resources we have at Arrow McLaren,” Brown said. “Beyond what he can do on a racetrack, he’s got a great personality and we’re excited to welcome him to the McLaren Racing family.”
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The move from Coyne to McLaren is nothing less than remarkable for the boisterous 21-year-old who finished runner-up to Kyle Kirkwood in the 2021 Indy Lights championship.
“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season,” Malukas said. “Arrow McLaren has been a threat to the top contenders all season long, and I’m excited join the team and see what their Chevrolets can do. Pato and Alexander both know what it takes to win, so it will be fun racing alongside them and learning from them as well.”
For Ward, the signing of a standout sophomore driver — one who often humbles bigger stars — is an interesting wrinkle after the team spent most of the year preparing to receive now-two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou.
“We’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly David has gotten up to speed in the NTT IndyCar Series,” he said. “At 21, he’s already one of the strongest oval racers in the field and his competitiveness on road and street courses has been steadily improving. That speed combined with an excellent attitude and work ethic makes us thrilled to have him join the team.”
As RACER told you a few weeks ago, Linus Lundqvist was headed to Chip Ganassi Racing and that’s been confirmed in Thursday’s announcement of the Swede’s multi-year deal to backfill Marcus Ericsson’s seat. The Swede-for-Swede swap was made easier by …
As RACER told you a few weeks ago, Linus Lundqvist was headed to Chip Ganassi Racing and that’s been confirmed in Thursday’s announcement of the Swede’s multi-year deal to backfill Marcus Ericsson’s seat.
The Swede-for-Swede swap was made easier by the fact that Ganassi offered Ericsson a deal to stay and be paid for the first time in his career — which he rejected and chose to sign with Andretti Autosport. With funding in place for Ericsson to stay in the No. 8 Honda and the ability to sign Lundqvist at a rookie rate to the entry that was meant for the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, a perfect scenario presented itself to the team to sign the reigning Indy Lights champion and bring more young talent into the organization.
With Scott Dixon, 43, as the longstanding team leader, having Alex Palou (26), Lundqvist (24), and Marcus Armstrong (23) as its next lineup gives Ganassi a long runway with next-generation drivers and the best driver of his generation to mentor them while chasing more championships.
Meyer Shank Racing, which ran Lundqvist for the last three races, was keen to sign him after the August 12 Brickyard Grand Prix event where Lundqvist started and finished 12th. It’s believed MSR had an option on Lundqvist and wanted to hold onto him for 2024, but Ganassi entered the frame immediately after the race and is said to have made Lundqvist an offer that would have been hard for MSR to match. From there, Lundqvist cleared the right-to-match period and was brought into the title-leading team for 2024 and beyond.
On the MSR front, there’s an increasing belief it will have Felix Rosenqvist moving across from Arrow McLaren to lead the retooling team. Rosenqvist won’t be returning to his current team, which isn’t a shocking development, and he’s had half the grid express interest in hiring him, but I’m told by a growing segment of the paddock that MSR has won the Rosenqvist sweepstakes.
Will a Rosenqvist move open an Arrow McLaren option for Malukas? Josh Tons/Motorsport Images
Directly related to Rosenqvist’s Arrow McLaren departure, the same high volume of paddock intel says David Malukas will be driving the No. 6 Chevy when we return next year. Malukas and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Callum Ilott were said to be Arrow McLaren’s top picks for the seat, but with the rumored link coming between the teams to brand Ilott’s No. 77 Chevy as a satellite McLaren entry, the Zak Brown-led organization could end up with both drivers — one directly on the payroll and the other through business ties with JHR — in the family.
Take a moment to consider all of the places the silly season has taken us in recent weeks, and the latest developments are simply remarkable. Lundqvist, with two fastest laps and best finish of 12th to his name from his three MSR races, will show up to work as the newest employee at IndyCar’s best team of 2023 and have the best driver of the last three decades and the best driver of the current decade as his teachers.
And Malukas, with two podiums in two seasons for one of the series’ perennial underdogs, is awaiting confirmation at IndyCar’s richest team alongside an Indianapolis 500 winner in Alexander Rossi and one of the fiercest title challengers in the business in Pato O’Ward.
If I said at the beginning of the season that we’d have Lundqvist signed by Chip Ganassi and Malukas signed by Zak Brown, IndyCar would have yanked my hard card and sent me to the hospital for a full evaluation. And yet, here we are, with two amazing kids readying themselves for the biggest opportunities of their lives.
There’s more to share, but let’s savor what’s in motion with Lundqvist, Rosenqvist and Malukas, and reconvene next week ahead of the season finale in Monterey for some of the other developments that are taking place.
David Malukas shrugged off any accusation that he did something wrong while wrestling with Scott McLaughlin for a top-five finish in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The Dale Coyne Racing w/HMD-Honda driver …
David Malukas shrugged off any accusation that he did something wrong while wrestling with Scott McLaughlin for a top-five finish in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
The Dale Coyne Racing w/HMD-Honda driver famously passed McLaughlin for second place in the closing laps of last year’s IndyCar race, and this year the pair again found themselves battling hard on several occasions throughout the race.
The decisive moment came in the race’s final 60 laps, when Malukas dived down the inside of McLaughlin’s Penske Chevrolet at Turn 1. The pole winner — who had to start from 10th due to an early engine-change penalty — squeezed down, made contact with the DCR car and the subsequent wobble sent him high and cost him several places. Malukas gathered up the moment and charged home in third, while McLaughlin also recovered well to claim fifth.
“I followed the car in front on the inside,” said Malukas. “Obviously for position, he squeezed down. I was right on the curb. It’s not like I washed up into him: it’s more that he cut into me. We had a tap. I managed to save it. I guess he did, as well.
“He came to me at the podium and said something about it. I don’t know if he’s, like, oppressed by it. I don’t know. I think he got a beef from that.
“From my standpoint, if you squeeze somebody down on the inside, what else are you going to expect? I can only go on the curb so much.”
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Quizzed as to how or why he and Coyne had again shone at this track, Malukas said, “We had a really good car. Going off the start, I was comparing to [early leader] Newgarden there. Our tires were falling off very similarly — compared to Herta, as well. He was falling off quicker than we were. I knew at that point we had a chance to go for it, with all the yellow playing out, the strategy.
“We tried to do what Dixon did. I don’t know how he can do it. We were falling off like a cliff trying to meet that fuel target. I was lifting at the start/finish line. I am like, ‘Guys, that’s not possible.’ We had to kind of cut it off and go heavy push from there. Then at that point I was just dealing with lapped cars.
“Overall, we had a really good car, and it was good for the team. Another podium at Gateway. Yeah, going through obviously IndyCar two times here and through Indy NXT, we just keep getting podiums.”
Malukas, who described conditions off-line as “treacherous,” added: “If you can do whatever possible to reduce marbles and we can actually use the second lane, then the lapped cars won’t be as much of an issue.”
The Gallagher Grand Prix is done, Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing won, and David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist join RACER’s Marshall Pruett to talk about their runs. Or click HERE to watch on YouTube. Presented by: RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report …
The Gallagher Grand Prix is done, Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing won, and David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist join RACER’s Marshall Pruett to talk about their runs.
RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report at the Gallagher Grand Prix is presented by Skip Barber Racing School. With multiple locations in the US, Skip Barber Racing School has developed more winning racers than any other school. Their alumni have taken the podium in all facets of motorsports including NASCAR, INDYCAR, SCCA, World Challenge and IMSA. Click to learn more.
IndyCar announced a six-position starting grid penalty for three series entries – the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda driven by Helio Castroneves, the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda of David Malukas and the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan …
IndyCar announced a six-position starting grid penalty for three series entries — the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda driven by Helio Castroneves, the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda of David Malukas and the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda driven by Jack Harvey — for unapproved engine changes following last week’s race at Nashville.
The named teams were in violation of Rule 16.2.3.2: “A fifth Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out.”
The specified penalty for violation of this rule is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, which is Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
A month after he confirmed to RACER that he would be departing the Dale Coyne Racing team at season’s end, David Malukas says he has options, but like several other drivers, he’s waiting for a couple of other moves in the 2024 market. “There’s a few …
A month after he confirmed to RACER that he would be departing the Dale Coyne Racing team at season’s end, David Malukas says he has options, but like several other drivers, he’s waiting for a couple of other moves in the 2024 market.
“There’s a few drivers in the field that have been rumored to move,” said the series sophomore who was seventh fastest in opening practice for the Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Friday. “I think…everybody is waiting on them.
“As soon as those two drivers – I obviously don’t want to name them – but if those two drivers move, it’s going to be a massive domino effect of a lot of people starting to jump. The way I see it, I think it’s all rumors. I don’t know if things are actually going to change.
“We have an option that isn’t affected by that…but nothing is signed. Everything is still kind of in the talks. Hopefully in the next few weeks things are going to start kicking off. I do know if those drivers move, it’s going to be a lot. Hearing a lot of rumors there’s going to be a lot of changes…
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“It depends with the timing. For me it’s more securing my future than waiting on these other drivers. If you wait, wait, nobody moves, now we don’t really have any options. Everybody is like, ‘Well, we’ve already signed with other people.’
“Yeah, if they move, then yes, maybe something. But there’s also a lot of other drivers going for it, too. It’s going to be more of a battle. If nothing happens, there’s still something else… We have a plan. There’s nothing signed. But, yes, there is something, but not guaranteed. Haven’t signed yet.”
Asked to confirm if there’s a team with an available slot waiting for his decision, Malukas responded, smiling, “No, not yet, unfortunately.”
He admitted to a certain amount of frustration that he can’t yet commit until he knows what others are doing, but added, “It’s just how the game works. There’s only so many seats in different teams. If nobody moves, then nothing’s going to happen.
“You could say it’s frustrating. At the end of the day it’s just how it is. I mean, I’m not really affected by it.”
IndyCar sophomore David Malukas will be moving on from Dale Coyne Racing at the end of the season. The Chicago native, who pilots the family-sponsored No. 18 DCR with HMD Motorsports Honda, signed a two-year contract with the home state team in 2022 …
IndyCar sophomore David Malukas will be moving on from Dale Coyne Racing at the end of the season.
The Chicago native, who pilots the family-sponsored No. 18 DCR with HMD Motorsports Honda, signed a two-year contract with the home state team in 2022 and quickly demonstrated his aptitude across the series’ road, street, and oval disciplines during his rookie campaign.
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Entering 2023 with a new, first-time IndyCar race engineer in Alex Athanasiadis, Malukas has weathered the inevitable growing pains while taking more steps forward in his career, which includes a strong run to sixth last weekend at Mid-Ohio.
Having reached a point where Malukas is drawing interest from the likes of Andretti Autosport, among other teams, the 21-year-old is ready to pursue race wins and championships with a front-running program.
“We’re talking to other teams, and we haven’t officially signed anything with anybody else, but things do look promising,” Malukas told RACER. “And I do know for my future, I will not be returning to Dale Coyne.”
The irreverent Lithuanian-American credits Coyne, team manager Terry Brown, the engineers, and the mechanics for all they’ve done to help him develop at a rapid rate and seek his first paying ride in IndyCar.
“There’s many reasons why we chose Dale’s team,” Malukas said. “Obviously, you get to IndyCar and it’s a big deal; my whole life was spent leading up to that point. You want to be in the best environment as a rookie, and I think Dale Coyne’s team is probably the best team you could be in.
“Going to the shop and being there and hanging out with the team has been really important. Everybody greets you like you’re family and they all make it where there’s no stress. You’re already under a lot of stress naturally while you’re trying to learn everything to become an IndyCar driver, so the environment they create is just helpful for you to be inside of.”
Few of the dominoes in what will be a busy IndyCar silly season have yet to fall, but Malukas hopes to have a final direction on where he’ll be driving by August.
“We’re still in early-to-mid talks with these teams,” he said. “But I hope to have answers in another month or so.”
