‘Little Dave’ Malukas ready to make a big move at Penske

Roger Penske’s most tenured IndyCar driver is confident his young new teammate is going to deliver in the No. 12 Chevy.

“I think ‘Little Dave’ is going to be great,” Josef Newgarden said of David Malukas. “Honestly, I think he's going to do a stellar job. He probably has some people looking. You can just feel the air. I think some people are like, ‘Why is Dave in this seat?’ I think he's really good.”

Scott McLaughlin is also sure the 24-year-old, despite his lack of wins and poles, is ready to perform from the first race onward while under the brightest spotlight of his career with Team Penske.

“I'm treating him as if he's been in that role for 10 years,” said Penske’s other veteran. “There's a reason why Roger finds you and Roger hires you and there's a reason why he's at that caliber to be a Penske driver. After the last few months and working with him and seeing how he goes about his trade, I can see why he would be on Roger’s radar.”

Malukas has driven for more teams since his rookie IndyCar season in 2023 than Newgarden’s had since making his IndyCar debut in 2012. Settling in at Penske, under a multi-year contract, and having a long runway ahead if he performs well, is something for the Illinois native to embrace.

Having his race engineer James Schnabel carry over from the AJ Foyt Racing team in 2025 to perform the same duties on the No. 12 Chevy is a huge benefit that should allow Will Power’s successor to get off to a fast start when the season opens at St. Petersburg in less than a month.

“I think it'll be important,” Malukas said. “But either way, since 2024, I've been jumping teams like crazy. I think being a little bit more familiar on what it takes now, jumping into a new team, I know what to run through, but I'm also not going to fret if things are taking some time and learning this new car – it's not going to be the end of the world. Because eventually we will get there. We'll learn it, as I have with any other car previously. Not really too pressured on that. I think it'll be fine.”

Like Malukas, Newgarden can’t say how Penske’s new hope will fare during the busy opening stretch where IndyCar races four times in five weekends across March, but there’s no question regarding the investment of time and expertise he’ll receive from throughout the organization.

“It's hard to predict anything with great certainty, but he's going to be supported super well,” Newgarden said. “We've always been an open-book team. That's the great thing. You come to Team Penske, whatever tool, whatever insight, information to maximize yourself, you're going to have it available to you. It's a matter of if it works or not. You sort of sink or you swim.

“Time is going to tell on that, but I think he's going to do a great job. He's smart. He's fast. He's definitely got the capability to win races. I'm not going to be surprised if we see him win races earlier than later. I think it will be a great addition as long as he shows up and he is as fast as he's always been, has great feedback. That's all we can ask.”